Rockaway Fights Back Against the Bike Ban

By Katie McFadden

When Rockaway sees an injustice, we fight back. On Saturday, April 26, Rockaway bike riders held a rally to stop the summer bike ban in wake of a policy being proposed by NYC Parks to ban bikes from the boardwalk between Beach 73rd and Beach 108th Street after 9:30 a.m., starting Memorial Day weekend.

Despite the rainy weather, more than 30 people gathered at the Beach 94th Amphitheater to have their voices heard. The rally was spearheaded by local activist John Cori after NYC Parks’ proposed policy was revealed earlier this month. Parks says they want to implement the policy for safety reasons, so bikers would be banned from the busy stretch on the boardwalk and would be redirected to the street-level bike lanes on Shore Front Parkway through October 1.

“We’re here to fight this issue because we’re not gonna roll over and play dead,” Cori said. “The people here all fought to get this boardwalk to be rebuilt. We raised money. We forced elected officials to get the funding. Parks looked like a star because of the people in Rockaway, so we need them to listen to us. We need better signage. We need people to make sure the concession area is closed to bike riding and have a safe jersey barrier type system to let people know to stop and we need Parks to put people there telling riders to dismount. If they enforce this ban, they’re gonna need a lot of people. We need them to keep biking, our culture, our traditions going for a long time.”

Victoria Barber, who uses her bike to get to work at the Peninsula Library, said, “Shore Front is more dangerous for me than me riding through the boardwalk. It’s not a solution. We need better signage. The boardwalk should be for everyone,” Barber said.

Local resident Bobby Nelson said, “We all love Rockaway for a lot of reasons but one of them is the ocean. I don’t want to look at parked cars and apartment buildings. We’re attempting to punish the 99 percent of people who do everything right instead of the 1% of people who do everything wrong. Increase the enforcement of the existing rules and we have no problem.”

Cori chimed in about the bike lanes on Shore Front saying, “We can’t be forcing hundreds of people into a single file bike lane where parents can’t watch their children.” He also suggested that there be a big push to get more funding for the Parks Department in the City budget, so they can hire more people to enforce the rules and incorporate barriers or better signage.

A woman with a sweatshirt for Paul’s Bicycle Shop suggested that there be more police riding bicycles to enforce the current rules and make sure pedestrians and bike riders are in the correct lanes along the boardwalk. Rochelle Grubb, who rides an adult tricycle to work on the boardwalk said, “I don’t drive. The boardwalk is my life. It’s how I get around. We need our bikes.”

Lastly, Marian Tinnelly, the mother of Connor, a son with Down Syndrome, said, “Riding a bike is something he can do, and we ride our bikes together almost every day as a family. I’m sure there are many that have special needs people and those who are not physically able to do a lot of things besides ride a bike, so I’m advocating for common sense here. It’s not fair to penalize the 99% doing the right thing instead of those who are not being responsible and considerate.”