De Blasio Rides Citi Bike To Tout New Bicycle Projects

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio folded his 6-foot-5 frame onto a Citi Bike for a Tuesday morning commute to City Hall.

De Blasio made the trek from Gracie Mansion surrounded by a gaggle of reporters unaccustomed to seeing the mayor on two wheels, despite his years of vocal advocacy for alternatives to automobile transportation.

When the mayoral migration was complete, de Blasio announced the locations for five new "bike boulevards" across as many boroughs and details on new protected bike lanes.

Both bicycle-centric projects will be completed this year, he said.

"2020, of course, we saw a bike boom across New York City," he said. "We want to keep it rolling, we want to keep it growing."

The future of New York City is on two wheels!

This #StreetsWeek we’re announcing bike boulevards across all 5 boroughs and building 30+ more miles of protected bike lanes.

Tune in: https://t.co/GmXQY5g7ed
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 11, 2021

De Blasio previously laid the outlines for the bicycle projects in his final State of the City, which includes announcements of roadway bike lanes for the Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges.

He also announced then that the city will build "bike boulevards," although he was fuzzy on details as to how they'll take shape.

The announcement Tuesday — which is part of the city's "Streets Week!" — didn't provide many more details on what a bike boulevard would look like, but de Blasio promised they would slow the speed and volume of cars on streets to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

"They're going to come with a variety of measures to make it safe for bicyclists and connect key bike lanes to each other," de Blasio said Tuesday. "This is all about creating a cyclist-friendly, pedestrian-friendly environment — making it easier for folks to get around from one part of the city to the other."

De Blasio said the planned bike boulevards will be completed in November or December and include:

• 21st Street (South Slope, Brooklyn)
• 39th Avenue (Sunnyside, Queens)
• Jackson Avenue (Mott Haven, Bronx)
• University Place (Greenwich Village, Manhattan)
• Netherland Avenue (Mariners Harbor, Staten Island)

The city this year will build 30 miles of protected bike lanes, de Blasio said.

Those include, according to the Department of Transportation:

• East 61st and 62nd Street, Manhattan/Northern Blvd, Queens — a stretch that will connect Midtown to the Queensboro Bridge and the 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights
• Seventh Avenue — a stretch that will connect Central Park to Midtown
• Varick Street/West Broadway/Church Street/Sixthth Avenue and Centre Street — a stretch that will connect Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan to Tribeca and Chinatown
• Meeker Avenue — an east-west connection from the Kosciusko Bridge to Williamsburg
• Bronxdale Avenue and White Plains Road in the Bronx — a protected bike lane project that connects into an existing neighborhood network that's hosting a e-scooter pilot
• Morrisania Neighborhood Network in the Bronx — a stretch designed to improve "access and safety for local community and schools," according to the DOT