AXLE NO’S: John Leguizamo (above) rides on the sidewalk and Mario Batali bikes the wrong way in ads the city is launching on what not to do. (
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AXLE NO’S: John Leguizamo rides on the sidewalk and Mario Batali (above) bikes the wrong way in ads the city is launching on what not to do. (
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One of the city’s top bike backers yesterday painted cyclists as a bunch of lawbreaking idiots.
“To put it a little more bluntly, don’t be a jerk,” said Department of Transportation boss Janette Sadik-Khan, as she unveiled a new, celebrity-studded bike safety ad campaign.
Sadik-Khan, a major bicycling proponent, has been instrumental in the DOT’s push to ad miles of controversial new bike lanes.
But that didn’t stop her from using a zinger of a tag line for the new ads.
The three “Don’t Be a Jerk” ad videos feature cameos by chef Mario Batali, comic John Leguizamo and model Paulina Porizkova, and use “satire and humor” to highlight basic the rules of the road, she said.
Meanwhile, bike advocates claimed yesterday that cops are writing tickets first and reading the law later. Police have slapped cyclists with summonses for offenses that aren’t even on the books, the advocates charge.
A list of 23 two-wheel violations, which, according to the advocacy site Streetsblog, were handed out by city cops in February contains at least three state laws that do not apply in the city. Such infractions include failing to stay on the right side of the road and riding more than two abreast.
“Having cyclists go to court to get a ticket dismissed is not a good use of [the rider’s] time, or the police officer’s,” said Caroline Samponaro of the group Transportation Alternatives.
An NYPD spokeswoman said she did not know the origin of the violations list and could not comment.