09th Dec 2002
Bloomberg on Wheels
Very cool. NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg says he’ll ride a bike to work if the transit workers go on strike. Personally, I work in my apartment, so I’m kind of immune to this pending strike, but I do love to bike in NYC and give the mayor his props for his attitude. I also love that he commutes to work on the subway normally.
?This time I will probably take a bicycle to work,? the mayor said, noting that he used car-pools during the 11-day 1980 transit strike. ?I think that?s a practical way for me to get downtown early.?
The mayor?s disclosure led to a follow-up question. ?Are you serious about riding a bike,? one reporter asked.
?Sure,? the mayor said. ?I never say anything I don?t do. You should know that by now.?
However, before he dons biking tights, Bloomberg admitted that his current bike is ?in pretty rotten shape.? He said he plans to buy a new one.
The reporter followed up again: ?So you?d actually ride down with a police escort??
With Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly nodding in the background, Bloomberg replied, ?Oh I don?t know. I?m a little faster than most of those guys ? I don?t know if they can keep up.?
That’s going to be such a great photo if it comes to it (most likely next Monday): the mayor geared up on a bike (bearing in mind, Weather.com predicts that tomorrow morning around commute time it’s going to be 27 F-degrees (”feels like 22″)) surrounded by an escort of cops on bikes, all freezing their balls off for an obligatory photo opp. Priceless! “Practical” indeed. You go, boy!
For the rest of you, WNYC.org has a page with an overview and links to the city’s Transit Strike Contingency Plan
No tags for this post
Leave a Reply