Daniel MaurerThe weekends are always pandemonium in the East Village, but it’s rarely the older hippies causing a scene.
And yet on the corner of First Avenue and Second Street last Friday around 8:20 p.m., a gray-haired man wearing a tucked-in tie-dye shirt – and, oddly enough, a Yankees cap – was vehemently stomping the back wheel of someone’s bicycle.
“Hey, don’t do that!” a bystander cried out limply. But the bike basher was already heading across First Avenue for a bite to eat.
Minutes later, he was back to where the bike was chained up, kicking it a couple more times for good measure before storming off with his takeout bag.
Before we could confront the man, he ducked into an apartment building on Second Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. That’s when we popped off the photo you see here.
Meanwhile, back at the scene of the trouncing, a woman accompanied by a pair of dogs was taking photos of her own. Lo and behold: it was Grace Weaver, the “Singing Vegan Lady” who was profiled by DNA Info just last week. Maybe she was documenting the effects of meat rage? Actually, no: it turned out the bicycle was hers, and the man who had assaulted it was her roommate. Read more…
Stephen Rex Brown Medics tend to the cyclist.A cyclist was hit by a cab after running a red light at East Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue shortly after 6:30 p.m., witnesses said.
The cyclist was traveling west-bound on East Ninth Street, went through a red light and then managed to avoid one cab before being nailed by a second, Katarina Kojic said. “Luckily, I don’t think he hit his head,” she said.
The victim was treated by Fire Department medics and put in an ambulance.
“He came across. There was too much traffic, I didn’t see him,” said the cabbie, Hardyale Singh. “I hit the bike, not him. It wasn’t my fault.”
This is the second accident at that intersection that The Local has recently stumbled upon. In June a pregnant cyclist was hit by a cabbie at the very same spot. Read more…
Noah Fecks The city’s Department of Transportation confirmed late yesterday what seemed obvious: you can’t claim a bike rack on a sidewalk as private, even if you installed it yourself.
The Local submitted the oddball inquiry yesterday after reporting on the mystery of the “private” rack on East Fourth Street. A local plumber told The Local he installed the rack at the request of Flash Courier Service, and assumed it would be available to the public. But as it turned out, someone has claimed the rack as his own, and left notes warning that the “trespassing” bikes will be forcibly removed.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation said that the rack did not appear in city records. “Still, even if a permit is issued for installation, that does not mean the bike rack is for the exclusive use of the owner if it is installed on a public sidewalk,” the spokeswoman added. Read more…
A new citywide bike share program will debut next summer, and the Department of Transportation is asking for input regarding where the distribution stations should be set up. The map, which went live today, shows that people have already suggested bike share spots at Tompkins Square Park, Cooper Square, and Sixth Street at Avenue C. Where would you like to see stations in the neighborhood (if anywhere at all)?
