A radical? Bloomberg says Sadik-Khan is a 'superstar'
The mayor visits Williamsburg. Dana Rubinstein
3:33 pm Aug. 20, 20127
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio thinks the city's bike lane-loving transportation commissioner is a "radical." Mayor Michael Bloomberg this afternoon countered that she's actually a "superstar."
"This woman is going to be in demand from every major city around the world," said the mayor this afternoon, in Williamsburg, just a short block away from the Kent Avenue bike lane. "She is a superstar. And a radical? Maybe…just because she does things."
The commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, has vastly expanded the city's cycling infrastructure, to the delight of transportation advocates, and to the consternation of some other people, including de Blasio, who's running for mayor next year from an increasingly centrist platform and argues that Sadik-Khan is implementing her bike-lane strategy too quickly.
The mayor made his remarks at a press conference hailing the imminent development of a race-car engine design shop on an old Metropolitan Avenue brownfield, between a clothing boutique called Hollander & Lexer Women & Atelier and a shop selling motorcycles and Vespas.
When asked if he was at all concerned that the next mayor would discontinue some of his more innovative transportation policies, Bloomberg didn't really answer the question.
"I hope the next mayor's a better mayor than I am," he said. "And I hope they can attract even better people than we've attracted. I will say that I think the reason the city government works so well and that the city is doing so well, is not because of me, but it's because of the people that we've been able to attract, like Janette Sadik-Khan."
In a city full of opinionated and hidebound traditionalists, Janette Sadik-Khan has managed to start the process of bringing the city's transportation infrastructure into the 21st century.
My only hope is that the next mayor doesn't seek to undo all of the progress that has been made in the past several years. Mayoral candidates will anger NYC cyclists at their own peril - they are an organized and passionate constituency that spans geographic, ethnic and economic boundaries.
Hypocrites!
When was the last time you saw Bloomie or Sadiktator-Khan on a bike?
They expect us proles to ride or walk or subway, while they have air-conditioned limousines and private parking spots outside their offices.
WhoMe - a two second google search would show you that you're wrong - Sadik-Khan commutes to her office by bike (and other places too). http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/25/nyregion/spokes.html You'll have to find another reason to be angry.
Think Sadik-Khan has done an amazing job - not so hot on community communication, but phenomenal progress in making NY a livable city.
I hate bike lanes. Period.
DelBlue: Poor baby.
You see her in a photo op shot and believe she rides a bike daily? You are so gullible.
I have a photo of me on a bike, but I rarely ride my bike. What purpose do photos serve, but for propaganda to the naive.
Personally, I have seen her get into her limo and she has special parking privileges in front of her office.
Conveniently, you forgot to respond to my other charge tha Bloomie never rides a bike, which he wants us to do.
Bike lanes are rarely used and have caused insane levels of congestion. FedEx & other vital delivery trucks must unload in the middle of First avenue while Wunderkind Kahn imposes her will on the city. The latest insanity is 9th Avenue. It takes 10 minutes on a good day during rush hour to get to the Lincoln Tunnel from 50th Street. Now she pushed the traffic deeper into the center lane so 10 bikes at most an have a free ride. Do they pay for registration, licenses, taxes or insurance? No! And when they slam into a pedestrian & send them to the hospital the victim must pay...sometimes with their lives or permanent injury. Tell that to the mayor or his beloved former Londonite & they will mock you. New York is not London nor the fabled college town where Bloomberg grew up. This city is about moving and getting things done. The problem with these transplants is they all want to turnit into something else because in their heart of hearts they are not true New Yorkers and want t transform this metropolis into a socialist fairyland.