The west side of Vernon Blvd is great for biking because there are almost no cross streets. I call it the low road to Brooklyn (as opposed to the Blissville / Greenpoint Ave high road). So the idea of an actual dedicated bike path (as opposed to an in-traffic bike lane) is great. But… and…
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I got thinking about Astoria history. A lot of it is hidden in plain sight. The more hipster inclined, myself included, get off on the old street names. SITE is changing its name to Lockwood. We can enjoy a beer at Suswick or Hell Gate, a meal at Pachanga Patterson, have Van Alst cater a…
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The headline reads: “Trendy Consignment Shop Buffalo Exchange Opening New Store in Astoria.” The text says, “Hip consignment shop Buffalo Exchange opening its first Queens location in the neighborhood”! Ditmars is all but dead to me. Buffalo Exchange is a national chain of about 50 stores that started out west. The only reason they’re in…
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Just days after the start of the Citibike Share, I took what should have been a very minor fall (bizarrely close to where I last fell, nine years ago). This recent fall was entirely operator error. For no particular reason, while going uphill at slow speed, I scraped a concrete wall with my left handlebar.…
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The missus and I got our key fobs on Friday, just in the nick of time, and rode around today. There is something a bit silly about paying to take a subway to ride a free bike when we’ve got a few two-wheelers sitting around right here at home… but anyway… The bikes are great.…
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The good news is that our next City Council Representative will be an improvement because it won’t be Peter Vallone Jr. That’s great news. But it doesn’t mean we’ll have a good person in City Hall. Much less a good person who actually cares about bikes, pedestrians, and mass transit. And with no incumbent in…
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I understand pedestrians don’t want to get run over by bikes. In truth most bikes don’t want to hit pedestrians. So it’s a disservice–even dangerous–to simply have crosswalks cut through bike paths with nothing telling the pedestrian to look for bikes. The city generally just tells bikes to yield to pedestrians. I’m not against this.…
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Why? Because it’s good for you. Builds character. Be real cool and read it in actual book form. Be super real cool and do so while riding your bike. Here’s the book: In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist. It’s by Pete Jordan. You may know him from Dishwasher fame. I…
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Slate has all the answers. If I could add just one more for pedestrians: don’t cross against the light without looking for bikes. Green means go, even for bikes.
Finally… A real book store in Astoria! Astoria Bookshop will be opening its doors at 31-27 31st Street. I can’t wait. For those who don’t know, Astoria had a bookstore until 2011. But Seaburn Books was a horrible bookstore (not withstanding the fact that Sam, the owner, is a swell guy). There was very little…
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