Bike Month, Bike Share, Sammy’s Law

You may have heard that TA is turning 50 this year ! Activists and staff have changed our streets and public spaces so much over the past 50 years. Car-free parks! Protected bike lanes! Pedestrian plazas! So much has been accomplished and yet there’s so much that’s still possible.

That’s where you come in. We’d like to hear from you about the New York City you want to see in the future. But we’re asking for more than a few spoken lines if you’re up for it.

We’d love you to create a vision of your neighborhood, or your borough, or all of New York City with whatever skills and materials you have. This could be a drawing of the next open street, the next pedestrian plaza, or the next bike lane you want to see. This could be finger painting with a little one who wants to take part. This could be a streetscape in LEGO form. Go as big or as small as your creativity (as well as your time and patience ??) allow.

Send a photo of your creation or a very short video (no longer than 5-7 seconds) to 7cinema.wetransfer.com . If you have any questions, please reach out to our team . Thank you so much for participating and helping shape the future of New York City!

SHARE YOUR IDEAS

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

1?? Bike Month starts next week. Our annual celebration of cycling runs (or rides?) through the entire month of May. Check out our schedule of commuter stations in each of the five boroughs, and log your daily miles toward our Bike Month challenge . Need some gear for the ride? Stock up with our pre-Bike Month sale in the TA shop !

2?? New York City needs publicly subsidized bike share. On its own, Citi Bike would be the 25th most-ridden public transit service in the country, with nearly as many riders as the PATH train – but it receives no public funding. Sign our petition and call for public subsidies for Citi Bike , so that it can continue to expand while keeping ridership affordable.

3?? In the news. Here's what we're reading this week:

• Streetsblog covered our Earth Day ride in support of our Better Bedford Avenue campaign.
• Senators Schumer and Gillibrand introduced legislation for e-bike battery safety standards, as NY1 reports.
• TA’s Director of Organizing Juan Restrepo was quoted in a News 12 Bronx article on DOT’s bike lane expansion plan.

TWO THINGS TO DO

1?? Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day in Queens. Our Queens Activist Committee is hosting an Independent Bookstore Ride this Saturday. Meet at Astoria Bookshop (36-19 30th Avenue) at 11 a.m. and set off on a 15.5-mile ride that will take you to four other independent bookstores in the area.

2?? Help clean up Bank Street on Staten Island. Now scheduled for Saturday, May 6, our Staten Island Activist Committee is hosting a clean-up event on the North Shore. Pitch in and stick around afterward for a press conference where we’ll call upon the city to restore full public access to Bank Street.

ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW

Call Assembly Speaker Heastie in support of Sammy's Law. The New York state budget is almost a month overdue, and we expect it to be finalized in the next few days. We must make our voices heard and demand that elected officials include Sammy’s Law, which would allow New York City to set its own speed limits, in this year's budget. Take two minutes to call Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and demand that he includes this common-sense measure in the budget.?

Thanks for reading!

Ted and the TA team