Outdoor Dining, Sammy’s Law, E-Micromobility Action Plan
Our newest video highlights the benefits that outdoor dining has brought to New York City: saving 100,000 jobs during the pandemic and boosting small businesses across the city, particularly in communities of color.
When you consider that all of this was made possible by repurposing fewer than 8,000 of the city’s 3 million-plus free parking spaces, keeping street space dedicated to outdoor dining should be a no-brainer!
In response, we’ve created a new petition to support year-round outdoor dining. Send a message to your Council Member and tell them we need to keep this resource that’s so vital to so many communities.
SIGN OUR YEAR-ROUND OUTDOOR DINING PETITION
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ The Women’s Ride is tomorrow! Our second-annual ride through the Bronx and Uptown Manhattan will set off from Crotona Park on Saturday. Visit our event page to sign up and take a look at the nine-mile route map, and stick around afterward for a post-ride rally in St. Mary’s Park.
2️⃣ How the city can expand e-micromobility access.This week, Mayor Adams introduced the Electric Micromobility Action Plan. We recapped the plan’s highlights in a Twitter thread on micromobility, which includes a pilot program that allows e-bikes in our parks, better street design, and new e-bike storage and charging for NYCHA residents.
3️⃣ In the news. Here's what we're reading this week:
TA’s Bronx/Uptown Organizer Shawn Garcia spoke with News 12 Bronx about the rising trend of traffic fatalities in the Bronx.
The New York Times reports on the fatal crash on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn earlier this week, with TA’s Director of Research Philip Miatkowski providing data on traffic violence in the area.
The New York Amsterdam News covered last week’s rally for better transit at City Hall.
TWO THINGS TO DO
1️⃣ Submit your panel idea for the Vision Zero Cities Conference. Help lead the conversation at this year’s Vision Zero Cities Conference! Submit your panel topics and you could run a discussion at our conference this fall. Send in your pitch for a panel session by April 15.
2️⃣ Demand safer streets in North Brooklyn. Next Thursday, join Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, NYC DOT, and TA members for a presentation and discussion about safety and access improvements on Morgan Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, and Grand Street. The meeting will be held at 211 Ainslie Street and begins at 6 p.m.
ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW
Tell elected officials we need safe speed limits. Both Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Senate have included a version of Sammy’s Law – which allows New York City to set lower speed limits – in their annual budgets. But we still need the support of the State Assembly by March 31. Sign our petition and tell Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie we need lower, life-saving speed limits.
Thanks for reading!
Ted and the TA team
P.S. City Council District 36 in Brooklyn has the third-highest rate in NYC of people who bike to work, as well as the highest percentage of car-free residents with zero protected bike lanes. To get even more people on bikes, we need safe infrastructure, so this week we launched our Better Bedford Avenue campaign. Join us in calling for a protected bike lane on Bedford that connects Flushing Avenue to Flatbush Avenue, plus improved intersections along the way.