Bike to Work with StreetsPAC and the City Council's Progressive Caucus

Please join us this Thursday, May 25th, for our annual Bike to Work event with the City Council's Progressive Caucus, along with our great partners Transportation Alternatives, Bike New York, Get Women Cycling, and Citi Bike, and an exciting new addition this year, the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus!

We'll be congregating at the south end of Foley Square [Map], near the fountain, for a rally at 10:00 a.m., with feeder rides rolling out from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Here are the feeder ride details.

Brooklyn Ride

Brooklyn Borough Hall, facing Columbus Park [Map]
Meet: 9:00 a.m.
Ride: 9:30 a.m.

Manhattan Ride

Union Square Park, north side, facing 17th Street Citi Bike station [Map]
Meet: 9:00 a.m.
Ride: 9:30 a.m.

Queens Ride

Queens Boulevard and 46th Street, Sunnyside, plaza beneath the 46th Street–Bliss Street subway station [Map]
Meet: 8:15 a.m.
Ride: 8:45 a.m.

Citi Bike has generously offered to supply a limited number of bikes at each of these locations for those folks won't be riding their own, so please let us know when you RSVP here if you would like to reserve a Citi Bike. Please RSVP by noon on Wednesday.

Thursday's weather forecast looks glorious, so please come on out and celebrate the continued growth of cycling in New York City, and lend your voice to the important call for further expansion of the city's safe, connected bike infrastructure.

Help Pass Idaho Stop and Three-Foot Safe Passing Laws

Send an email that will save a cyclist’s life… it could be yours.

We're asking folks to email New York State legislators to urge the passage of legislation before the end of session that will save cyclists’ lives and elevate their status as road users: "Idaho Stop" and Three-Foot Safe Passing.

Complete George (the organization leading the advocacy for expanding bike access on the George Washington Bridge) has assembled all the information you'll need, including the pertinent bill info, sample email language, and contact information for State Senate and Assembly leadership, all of which you can find here.

If made law, these bills would increase safety for people riding bikes across New York State, New York City included. We strongly urge you to take a few minutes to join in this important advocacy effort. Thank you!

We testified yesterday at the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure oversight hearing on Bicycles, Micromobility, and Street Enforcement, in support of bills that would eliminate an unnecessary waiting period for bike lane projects, enable civilians to report illegal parking via a mobile app, and require the Department of Transportation to create a map of bike lane service status. Our full testimony follows below.

We testified yesterday at the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure oversight hearing on truck routes, in support of a bill that would require redesign of the city's truck-route network with an eye to improving safety. Our full testimony follows below.

On Sunday, March 26, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., we're hosting a fundraiser for State Senator Andrew Gounardes at The Long Island Bar on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and we hope you'll join us!

In his four-plus years in the State Senate, no one has done more to promote safe streets than Andrew Gounardes. After defeating speed-camera foe Marty Golden in 2018, Andrew was the prime sponsor of the bill that expanded the crucial automated-enforcement program. And last year, he sponsored the legislation that authorized a major expansion of New York City's speed-camera program, also allowing round-the-clock operation, a critical step given the prevalence of dangerous driving late at night.

In addition, Andrew and fellow StreetsPAC endorsee Emily Gallagher last year sponsored the bill that now requires instruction in pedestrian and cyclist safety as part of the process of obtaining a drivers license in New York State. In the current Albany session, Andrew has sponsored bills that will enable citizen-reporting of the growing and dangerous problem of illegally obscured or covered license plates, expand the city's red-light camera program, and revoke driving privileges for chronically dangerous drivers.

On top of that, he's been a consistent champion for better subway and bus service, and improved transit accessibility.

Following State Senate redistricting in 2022, Andrew is now representing a significantly changed district, adding portions of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Gowanus, and several Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods. If you live in one of those communities, this event will be a great opportunity for you to get to know your new State Senator.

We'll have plenty of appetizers to nosh on, and we'll pick up the tab for your first couple drinks.

See below for details, and click on the image to RSVP, or follow this link: secure.actblue.com/donate/streetspac-ag-2023. Hope to see you there!

We testified yesterday at the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure preliminary hearing on the city's Fiscal Year 2024 transportation budget. With the budget covering such a wide scope, we chose to focus on a few areas of pressing need. Our full testimony follows below.

We testified today at the New York City Council's Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management and Committee on Small Business joint oversight hearing on preparing for the implementation of Commercial Waste Zones, and in support of two related bills that would create a Commercial Waste Zones working group and require the Department of Sanitation to develop a plan for accepting commercial waste at city-operated marine-transfer stations, respectively. The creation of a Commercial Waste Zone system has significant implications for making streets safer. Our full testimony follows below.

We testified at yesterday's New York City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure oversight hearing on street safety infrastructure and Vision Zero, and in support of two bills that would require daylighting and installation of bollards at intersections, respectively, as well as a resolution calling on Albany to enact legislation that would allow the city to set a five mile-per-hour speed limit on Open Streets. We also joined Families for Safe Streets, City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Selvena Brooks-Powers, and other electeds for a press conference ahead of the hearing. Our full testimony follows below.

There's an important general election today in New York, and polls will be open until 9 p.m. You can find your polling site, review a sample ballot, confirm your registration status, and see other election-related information at vote.nyc.

StreetsPAC's Board of Directors has spent the better part of the past year evaluating responses to our in-depth candidate questionnaire, analyzing policy platforms, and conducting personal interviews with dozens of candidates. We've endorsed 16 candidates for the New York State Senate and Assembly, and you can read more about them, and crucial aspects of their street-safety and transportation platforms, below. Endorsed candidates are listed in ascending order by district number. We've said this often, but it bears repeating that state government exerts enormous influence over New York City's streets and transit system, and your vote for a StreetsPAC-endorsed candidate can help to ensure that the legislature will pursue policies that make our streets safer and our buses and subways more efficient and reliable.

There's a great deal at stake in today's election beyond transportation issues. We want you to have your say, so please make a plan to vote, and remember that as long as you're in line at your polling place by 9 p.m., you can't be turned away.

Thank you for your support, and happy voting!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 8th, is Election Day, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can find your polling site, review a sample ballot, confirm your registration status, and see other election-related information at vote.nyc.

We've endorsed 16 candidates for the New York State Senate and Assembly, and you can read more about them, and important aspects of their street-safety and transportation platforms, below. Endorsed candidates are listed in ascending order by district number. State government exerts enormous influence over New York City's streets and transit system, and your vote for a StreetsPAC-endorsed candidate can help to ensure that the legislature pursues policies that make our streets safer and our buses and subways more efficient and reliable.

There's a great deal at stake in tomorrow's election beyond transportation issues. Turnout is critical, so please make a plan to vote, and remember that as long as you're in the queue to vote by 9 p.m., you can't be turned away.