I Bike NY » Uncategorized

Voting Begins in Pepsi Refresh competition

Ryan — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:59:03 +0000

Starting today you can vote for my bike share project in the Pepsi Refresh Idea competition. You can login and vote at www.refresheverything.com/socialbicycles or vote through Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/pepsirefresh/
(search ‘sobi’). If we finish in the top 10 we will receive a $50,000 grant for the project.

SoBi is also one of four finalists in the Innovation Erie design competition. The project is on display at the Erie Art Museum through October 31st.

Bike to School Day!

Ryan — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:04:43 +0000

Bike to School day was a Bike Month promotion that I initiated before leaving DOT. I reached out to my friend Rachel who is a teacher at Middle School 51 and she set up a meeting with the principal, who embraced the idea. I then brought the proposed project to my boss at the DOT and it was approved just before I left. The week before the event, Bike New York conducted a ‘bike drivers ed’ and held a bike safety assembly after which DOT Safety Education did a helmet fitting and give-away. Matthew Modine and Bicycle for a Day supplied some bikes for a raffle (courtesy of Fox News!) and together we all rode on Friday, May 28th. Check out the excellent Streetfilm of the event and my Flickr set. The event was a great success and hopefully the start of an annual tradition.

SoBi – The Social Bicycle System

Ryan — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:20:11 +0000

I haven’t updated this blog in a very long time but I am still bike crazy. For the last year and a half I have been developing a bike share system that uses GPS, mobile communications, and a secure lock that can attach to almost any bicycle. For more information go to SocialBicycles.com and ‘like’ us on Facebook.

Its been a busy month

Ryan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:55:54 +0000

There are a couple reasons why I haven’t posted as often this month. First, I think I am finished ranting. I feel that I’ve pretty much explained what biking means to me and going forward I want the focus to be on other NY cyclists. ’I Bike NY’ was never meant to be “I, Ryan Rzepecki, bike NY”, but rather a collective exclamation — “I Bike NY!!!” I see so many great New Yorker’s biking, and its time to hear from other people.

If you would like to contribute to the blog and share your experience of cycling in the city, please email me a pic and a short story and I can add it to the site.

The other reason that I haven’t been actively posting is I that just went through two major transitions and enjoyed the corresponding celebrations. At the end of May, I graduated from Hunter College with a Masters in Urban Planning. The following week I turned 30. Graduation was somewhat anti-climactic as this year my only “class” was my DOT internship. I am still working at the DOT so besides the diploma, very little has changed post graduation. The passing of my twenties was also not terribly sad or shocking. I decided not to have a blow-out party and instead had an amazing steak dinner at Peter Luger’s and drinks with a few close friends. The most exciting thing about my thirtieth was watching Liz mount her roommate’s pink beach cruiser and ride over the Williamsburg bridge to the restaurant.

After my graduation and birthday celebrations I went home to Erie for a few days, and then fell right back into my chaotic New York lifestyle. Soon after returning I was welcomed home by an “only in New York” bicycle.

Yes, those are bagels.

Back at work, I did some more monitoring of Times Square for the DOT, and saw two very strange things.

A 50+ year old Naked Cowgirl

And a guy doing some sort of crazy man Tai Chi in the crosswalk

In between rainstorms last week I was in the East Village looking for places to install bike racks. In the process I came across some great abandoned bikes.

Acrobatic Abandoned Bike

Abandoned Bike Yoga

Abandoned Bike Orgy

Abandoned bike scrum

"I'm sorry that your bike was vandalized but could you please remove it so there is room for the rest of us to lock up. Thank You."

Unfortunately, I missed the bike film festival this year, but walking by the theatre last week I did see this really cool bike…

This old school bike is like a unicycle with a training wheel.

I might have missed the BFF, but I did attend another bike related cultural event last week. Guest blogger Roos Stallinga has a piece of her artwork in the Atlantic Gallery, and I attended the opening last Tuesday. The current exhibit features artwork related to transportation, and its worth checking out. Below are a few pieces from the collection.

Roos's picture is in the middle

While at the gallery I met artist Vincent Pinto, who had a few pieces in the exhibit, including these…

Vincent Pinto

Mr. Pinto overheard me talking about my bike projects, and after speaking with him, I convinced him to contribute to this blog. His post will be the first in a series of guest posts that feature New York cyclists that do not belong to the spandex tribe. Take it away, Vincent!

Broadway Boulevard, in the news…

Ryan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:24:06 +0000

With car-free Times Square approaching its one month anniversary, I thought it would be a good time to link to the media coverage of the project. Overall, it seems the reaction of the press and the public has been pretty positive. Tourists and locals alike are enjoying the novelty of the new space, even though it is still raw and unfinished. Taxi and delivery truck drivers had obvious complaints, emergency response workers had concerns, and local businesses were not sure if the closing would be a blessing or a curse. The beach chairs underwent excessive scrutiny, and a few cranky critics called it a “Bloomberg vanity project”, which it most certainly is not.

This project was obviously going to be controversial, and I think the Mayor showed great leadership by trusting the recommendation of his Transportation Commissioner. As the clear favorite for reelection, the Mayor had more to lose than to gain by closing Broadway just months before the vote. If this project had caused serious traffic problems and paralyzed the city, it would have been an embarassing failure, and could actually have cost him the election. I think its another example of him putting politics aside, trusting the right people, and making the decision based on what is best for the city. Anyway, below are links to the local coverage of the Times Square closure. Enjoy…

May 24th:

NY Times: People flood the space minutes after the closure.

May 25th:

Daily News: Taxi drivers think its stupid. Business owners are cautiously optimistic.

NPR: Audio interview with transportation writer Matt Dellinger.

Huffington Post: New York’s love hate relationship with cars, and car-free Broadway.

NY Times Architecture Review: New design needs to “reflect the urban toughness of the city”.

May 26th:

Post: Street performers, sun bathers, and pedicabs rejoice. But cab and truck drivers revolt.

NY1: Video of Times Square loungers and loathers.

NY Times CityRoom Blog: The debate rages on in the comments section.

Daily News: Hope Cohen applauds the project and would like to see Broadway closed from Columbus Circle to Union Square.

May 27th:

Streetsblog’s editor shares his experience of car-free Times Square and puts the closure in the context of the greater livable streets movement.

The Post ran three articles on the 27th:

“Smooth Rush-hour Debut” – traffic is moving but emergency response workers and business owners are still wary.
Amanda Peyser wrote a ridiculously uninformed editorial calling the project “ferociously dumb”. The chairs are cheap, Europeans like it (so it must be bad), people were smoking!, and real New Yorkers must pay the price. Must read for people that like inflammatory drivel (O’Reilly fans?).
A third article was dedicated to making fun of the beach chairs, calling them “cheesy and tacky“. Uh, for the last time, they were bought at the last minute by the Times Square Alliance and were a temporary gesture, not a permanent treatment.

News: Truck drivers complain about the loss of curbside delivery, but woman says “New Yorker’s can get used to anything and everything.”

May 28th:

Post: Broadway closure causes business boom for street vendors and naked cowboys.

May 29th:

AnimalNewYork: Video of “real New Yorkers” enjoying Times Square.

May 31st:

News: It had only been a week, but the News wants the traffic data.

NY Magazine: The informality and impromptu nature of the closure has made it a delirious carnival.

June 7th:

NY Times: Funny, those tacky, tasteless, cheesy beach chairs seem to be in high demand.

June 8th:

News: Mike Lupica thinks “Bloomberg Beach” is just a vanity project, revenge for congestion pricing defeat.

June 10th:

Post: The High Line opens, wins high praise. Post declares it much better than “trash-strewn Times Square pedestrian mall.”

Times: The full story behind the Times Square beach chairs.

June 18th:

NY1: Times Square businesses thriving, despite the recession.