Citi Bike (DOT)
Oct. 21, 2021 By Allie Griffin
About 80 people will partake in a group bike tour Saturday to explore cultural sites and local eateries through multiple northwest Queens neighborhoods.
Citi Bike, On — a running apparel and shoe company —, MoMA PS1, local community group Homecoming and Queens-based food influencer Jaeki Cho have organized the tour that kicks off at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City at 9:30 a.m. and ends in Woodside with an all-you-can-eat deal at the authentic Filipino eatery Renee’s Kitchenette.
The ride begins with a private viewing of the newly opened Greater New York 2021 exhibition at MoMA PS1.
From there, bikers will ride through Long Island City into Astoria, where they will stop at the historic Kaufman Studios to learn about the neighborhood’s film industry.
Then they’ll bike into Sunnyside, stopping at Bolivian Llama Party for some fresh salteñas — the Bolivian take on empanadas — and passing by the iconic Sunnyside arch. After the quick snack break, the bikers will head into Woodside, stopping at Donovan’s Pub to learn about its history and Woodside’s Irish community.
The bikers will end in Little Manila, also in Woodside, to learn about the neighborhood’s Filipino community and eat authentic Filipino food at Renee’s Kitchenette in honor of Filipino American history month.
Citi Bike is providing e-bikes and helmets for participants of the bike tour and On is also offering sample athletic shoes for participants to try on during the ride.
Cho and Homecoming — a recently established Queens community group that fights food insecurity while supporting local restaurants by hosting neighborhood restaurant crawls in which a portion of ticket sales goes to food pantries and other organizations — curated the bike route and stops along the way.
Abigail Faelnar, the co-founder of Homecoming, said they hope the bike tour brings people into Queens and teaches them about various diverse neighborhoods and communities in the borough.
The organizers also invited a number of Queens elected officials and community-based groups to join the bike tour in a celebration of the borough’s culture, communities and cuisine. The event will also support Sunnyside Woodside Mutual Aid.
The free event filled up in less than a day with a waitlist option for those still interested.
“It’s exciting to see that response,” Faelnar said. “I think [it shows that] we have built a pretty engaged community with Homecoming.”
She said she hopes the bike tour will encourage New Yorkers to feel comfortable biking in Queens, while supporting local eateries and providing some history lessons about the borough.
“There’s not many opportunities to bike through Queens in this way, especially in a group, so it’ll be a really great way to show people the bike lanes and infrastructure upgrades that have taken place in different Queens neighborhoods,” Falenar said. “And also possibly raise the comfort level for people who may be biking in Queens for the first time.”
@jaekichoYo, free event this Saturday in ##queens with @On ##citibike ##momaps1 ##sunnyside ##woodside ##filipinofood ##bolivianfood ##trustjaeki ##jaeki믿어봐 ##community♬ Citi Bike Where You At Queens – Jaeki Cho
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