As 'Summer Of Cycling' Pedals Up, NYC Plans Bicycle Outreach

NEW YORK CITY — A "Summer of Cycling" is pedaling through New York City — and city officials hope to keep the ride going.

Bicycle outreach teams will hit the five boroughs as both temperatures and numbers of new cyclists rise, Ydanis Rodriguez, the city's Department of Transportation commissioner, announced Friday.

"With cycling numbers in New York City at an all-time high, plans to add more protected bike lane miles in 2023 than ever before and as the summer quickly approaches, we have already begun putting forth a great series of events and programming to further grow this trend," he said in a statement.

The bicycle-boosting outreach will be folded into Summer Streets events, officials said.

Plans include guided rides, helmet fittings and outreach to delivery workers about which e-bikes are permitted on the street and where, officials said.

Here's the schedule, as provided by Department of Transportation officials:

Bike Bonanzas/Learn to Rides/Bike the Block:

• June 17 — Hunts Point Fish Parade, Bronx
• Greenways outreach tabling
• Freight Unit: Truck Safety Improvements @ Protected Bike Lane SIP
• June 18 — Self/Guided Ride, Downtown Brooklyn
• WE Bike + NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project Guided Ride

Delivery Cyclist Outreach:

• June 20 — Brooklyn – Council Member Shahana Hanif, Council Member Crystal Hudson, Council Member Lincoln Restler
• June 21 — Manhattan, Platt and William Street
• July 12 — Queens, Queens Plaza North and 27th Street
• July 19 — Brooklyn, Fulton Avenue and Ralph Avenue
• July 26 — Bronx, Fordham Road and Webster Avenue
• Several August events are in the planning stages

Helmet Fittings (sponsored and promoted by individual Council Members):

• June 24 — Bronx – Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Bill Rainey Park, 810 Dawson Street
• July 8 — Manhattan – Council Member Carlina Rivera, Augustus St. Gaudens Playground: 328 2nd Avenue
• July 15 — Manhattan – Council Member Julie Menin, John Jay Park, E. 77th Street and FDR/Cherokee Place
• July 22 — Staten Island – DOT Day, Front Street between Prospect and Water Street

E-bike Outreach:

• July 17 — Brooklyn, Fulton Avenue and Nostrand Avenue
• July 24 — Bronx, Fordham Road and Jerome Avenue