Some of Marty’s Best Friends…

Image: Gothamist

What can someone say about a man as clearly off-the-rails when it comes to understanding cycling as transportation and the future of Brooklyn as Marty Markowitz?  You can barely deconstruct such nonsense; letting him speak for himself is its own hoisted petard.

But please do take this brief peek into the thought process, if you dare, of our borough president:

1. I am not a “bike-hating politician.”
2. I’m happy to come on your show to promote a Barbra Steisand concert, but I’d really love to discuss, at length, how most bike lanes don’t make any sense, except for the ones on Kent Avenue and inside Prospect Park.
3. Speaking of which, cycling should be “contained” inside Prospect Park as a leisure activity, which I myself enjoy.  Honestly, who’s against leisure?  Just watch out for cars, which should get 30 more minutes of time to drive through the park than they currently have.
4. I have not come out against bike share.  However, I don’t think it’s a good idea, think inexperienced riders are likely to kill or be killed, believe the city is too “bustling” to handle blue bikes all over the place, and must insist that the storage of one private automobile always be considered more valuable to New York than the storage of fifteen public bicycles.  But, no, I’m not against bike share.
5. Also, bikes are only good for “young people.”