Transportation

Councilmember Ben Kallos, who represents the Upper East Side, also has tracked improvement on the issue, thanks to a summer of work to address what he sees as one of the most pressing issues in his district.

Kallos said a renewed focus from officers in the 19th Precinct has resulted in a 52% increase in enforcement actions against bikes and a corresponding 18% drop in bike and vehicle collisions.

Working with his office, the Department of Transportation has given away 10,500 bells and 10,100 lights to bikers.

“This is something we’ve taken very seriously,” Kallos said in an interview. “A lot of this revolves around residents feeling empowered to do something.”

Yet while numbers from police and the new survey show improvement on the issue, it has yet to filter down to how people feel in the street. The September meeting of Wallerstein’s group, for instance, was dominated by the issue, with a number of speakers expressing frustration that bikers who break traffic laws or ride the wrong way seem rarely get punished.

Wallerstein said the emotion surrounding the issue springs from fear, particularly among older New Yorkers, few of whom are riding the bikes that are now crowding the streets.

“It’s very, very frightening,” she said. “The biker knows he can easily get around. But elderly people can’t do that.”

Wallerstein said her group is planning another bike survey in the neighborhood next month.

Kallos welcomed the input. “Unless the community steps up to the plate,” he said, “there will never be an end in sight.”

But as Councilman Ben Kallos pointed out, the Ninth Avenue bike lane [PDF] resulted in a 43 percent decrease in collisions since its implementation in 2007.

Council Members Ben Kallos and Helen Rosenthal were also at today’s event. Sensing the anti-bike sentiment from local seniors, the Upper East and Upper West Side council members bragged about how their local precincts were cracking down on cyclists.

Ben Kallos, a city councilman and software developer, introduced a bill last year that would require the city to create a free universal e-hail app. He praised the new apps as "exactly what the city needed," but lamented their late arrival.

Council Member Ben Kallos of Manhattan's Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island said making sure the three stations planned for his district are moving forward is a "high priority."

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"This is another piece to the puzzle," Kallos said. "Despite initially low projected ridership, when you are speaking about the infrastructure we're building, and the cost of it...This is providing a lot more service to four or five boroughs, and it's improving people's commutes."

EDC representatives are expected to testify Monday and say that the plans for the ferry system are on track. The agency is currently reviewing responses to a request for proposals for a ferry operator and plans to integrate the East River Ferry operator into the new larger ferry system. Officials point to the successes of the East River Ferry as they imagine expansion of ferry service.

Rodriguez said that ferries are also particularly effective when natural disasters hit—a route between Manhattan and the Rockaways was established within days after Hurricane Sandy knocked out subway service to the neighborhood in 2012. He and Kallos also pointed that the ferry system would be completely under the city's control—unlike the MTA, which is state-run.

"Investing in our waterfronts and our ferry system is a way for our city to have strong accountability and control over our infrastructure," Kallos said.

Parents at P.S. 290 are steamed that a new Citi Bike station has been installed outside of the school — creating a safety hazard for their kids who use the street to play during recess.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will be conducting a Citywide Ferry Service outreach presentation to the Roosevelt Island community.

Upper East and Upper West siders have been griping about Citi Bike’s below-Central Park coverage area since the program launched in May 2013, a state of affairs that ended today with the opening of new Citi Bike stations in both neighborhoods.

City Councilman Ben Kallos called the expansion critical to reducing crowding on the streets and over-packed 4, 5 and 6 subway trains.

The first Citi Bike stations rolled out on the Upper East and Upper West sides on Tuesday morning. To celebrate the opening, City Councilman Ben Kallos is offering Upper East Side residents who are not yet members and who attend a bike safety class a free day pass and a $25 discount on annual memberships, which usually cost $149, he said.