(Twitter)
Oct. 2 2020 By Michael Dorgan
Video footage has emerged of a motorist spitting at a female cyclist in Astoria Wednesday afternoon after the pair got into a heated confrontation.
In the video, which was shot and tweeted by the cyclist, the driver can be seen in the freshly-painted bike lane on Crescent Street blocking the pathway.
The cyclist who was riding in the two-way bike lane was forced to stop. She then faced the driver and began recording.
The driver is then seen in his white BMW sports car pulling out of the bike lane–before spitting out the window at the bicyclist. The driver can also be seen using a cell phone while driving.
The cyclist told the New York Post that the saliva hit her body and bike handlebars.
The incident garnered a response from State Sen. Mike Gianaris who said that the man’s actions were criminal.
“This is criminal conduct, and especially dangerous during the pandemic,” Gianaris tweeted.
“Bike lanes are here to stay. Get used to it.”
How do @NYC_DOT and @NYCMayor plan to protect cyclists and pedestrians when cars are able to speed down bike lanes and spit on cyclists without any consequences? This happened yesterday on the crescent street bike lane. pic.twitter.com/HDLauQhz51
— out of context kara ? (@karakul) October 1, 2020
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5 Comments
I know what you are talking about, and I wish signage wouldn’t be necessary for such obvious things, but alas our society is rife with “independent” thinkers that feel entitled to their ignorance and arrogance. E-bikes and mopeds should be restricted from bike lanes altogether, but that is another story…
I have the solution: get rid of all the bike lanes. Turning a two-lane street that feeds the QB lower roadway into a one-lane street to appease bike Nazis is an idea only morons would come up with.
I’ve lived in NYC my entire life. I’ve never spit at anyone or even on the ground, never openly grabbed at my nuts, never peed between parked cars or left a bottle of my urine on the street, never threw trash on the ground or left it on the subway, never said anything obscene to someone else in public, never threw a punch at a stranger. Too many people are being raised like pigs in this city today. A little more civility would make living in this place a lot better for everyone, and it’s not hard.
I agree. But let’s not forget that a lot of this behavior comes from people who have recently arrived here from other cultures. I’m a Democrat and don’t have an issue with immigration, but our standard of living needs to be maintained. Right now people are showing up and immediately starting to drive for Uber, with all of the horrible road habits and anti-social behavior that entails…
Unfortunately, I experienced a similar situation. It was a great idea by the Mayor to create north and south lanes along Crescent Street, but the lanes are not protected and there are no traffic officers directing traffic. Cars stuck in traffic can easily go into the expanded bicycle lane (that used to be a available to cars). Wish there was signage along the new route alerting drivers of the new bike lanes.
Wish there was signage on the 59th Street Bridge bicycle lane reminding cyclists, e-Bikers and moped drivers to slow down and to remain in their lane (even if the lane is very narrow) as when they attempt to go around a slower rider they come into the Manhattan bicycle lane and the Manhattan cyclist is forced to go into the lane for pedestrians.
A shit show, thank you to all of our elected officials who have failed to work together to implement common sense safety solutions for more than 6 months.