New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/nyregion/with-transportation-snarled-in-brooklyn-bicycles-roam-free.html?_r=0
Bike Portland
http://bikeportland.org/2012/11/01/while-sandy-recovery-continues-signs-of-hope-on-two-wheels-79511#more-79511
Bloomberg.com
http://go.bloomberg.com/hurricane-sandy/2012/10/31/advice-for-post-sandy-new-york-traffic-take-the-bike/
Here are a few resources that are circulating and being shared with new and experienced riders:Tips
http://sellingsustainablestreets.tumblr.com/post/34707764652/live-in-nyc-want-to-start-bike-commuting-this
Safe routes / bike trains / resources
http://bikeapolis.us/Organized resource distribution
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Recycle-A-Bicycle/62453932286#!/events/261390857316858/
On a personal note:Recycle-A-Bicycle was very, very lucky. We have two storefronts and an education center that are all located in the immediate flood Zone A. Just one block away from each of our shops (in Dumbo, Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of Manhattan), there were cars submerged underwater. Our shops experienced minimal flooding (water touched the tires, not the rims). Despite the fact that we were without electricity, heat, water, or phone lines, both stores were open for business as of Wednesday 10/31. As of 5PM on Friday 11/2, both shops were operating at full capacity.
Our workshop/warehouse in Long Island City, Queens did not fare as well. The warehouse suffered an electrical fire that thankfully never left the breaker room. The storm surge brought 3 feet of sea water that filled the 4,000 sq ft space, making for a gigantic mess and many needed repairs/replacements of all hubs, bottom brackets, cables, and housing. We've had a steady crew of staff and volunteers who've gotten the space cleaned up (with headlamps at times) and are now working to repair the bicycles. All is workable and could have been much worse.
With long bus lines, a still not fully operating subway system, horrendous traffic, and lines into gas stations that can run miles long, the bicycle is clearly the way to go, now more than ever. We've had so many new riders in the shops these last few days, asking for bikes, lights, city riding tips, and recommendations for safe routes. It feels like a mini resource center, more so than usual.
With so many parts of this city --and others near and far-- that are suffering loss of human life, homes, and businesses, it is powerful and humbling to feel the strong sense of teamwork, communication, and camaraderie between bike shops, cycling groups, and bike education/advocacy organizations stepping up to do what needs to be done, in the ways that we can.
Many of you have reached out to us this past week. Thank you for thinking of us and for all the great work you are doing.
Best regards,
Pasqualina Azzarello
Recycle-A-Bicycle
On Sun, Nov 4, 2012 at 10:45 AM, Plan B
<nolabikeproject@gmail.com> wrote:
I thought I'd put my 2 cents in. We're
in New Orleans and Katrina was definitely a trans-formative storm.
With so many cars out of commission in the city and a high level
of working class poor, New Orleans' bike use skyrocketed and
definitely caused long-term cultural impact. The situation,
however, was different. We are a temperate city, climate wise, and
did not have the challenge of an oncoming winter. Our bike culture
has exploded since 2005 and it's been one of the positive impacts
of such a devastating storm.
Another difference here is that our public transit was useless for
almost a year after the storm and our population was decimated
regionally. New York and the affected areas of Sandy have pockets
of devastation surrounded by areas that are relatively intact with
high levels of operational infrastructure. Also, New Orleans is
much poorer than the NE and the majority of people that lost
everything simply could not afford to replace a car or a home and
there was a definite housing shortage. Rents skyrocketed.
I'd be interested in seeing metrics about what happens in the NE
over the next few years and whether there is a long term impact
in independent self-powered transportation.
Of course, our hearts are with all of those impacted by Sandy. A
current sentiment here is that perhaps this will finally start a
real national dialogue about the long-term impacts of
human-affected climate change and all it's implications. In Nola,
we felt it early on and we've been feeling it for decades. Katrina
and the BP oil spill were the canaries in the coal mine that
radicalized so many of us regionally and awoke us to the realities
of this difficult new world that we are living in fueled by
convenience and apathy. While we take no joy in the pain or
discomfort of others, we hope that the lesson is not lost anyone.
We will all be impacted by climate change, not just the poor
south.
Personally, I think that bikes are an integral part of the
long-term solution.
Victor Pizarro
Project Organizer
Plan B, The New Orleans Community Bike Project
On 11/4/2012 9:12 AM, Brian Stromberg wrote:
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Pasqualina Azzarello
Executive Director
Recycle-A-Bicycle
Ph: 718-858-2972
Fax: 718-858-6201
http://www.recycleabicycle.org