What a ride!
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz last night pedaled a senior-citizen tricycle into Sunset Park High School’s auditorium and up to the stage along a makeshift bike lane to deliver his State of the Borough address — and reiterate his opposition to the controversial Prospect Park West bike lanes.
Markowitz — who previously called city Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan a bike-lane-promoting “zealot” pushing an anti-automobile agenda and famously crooned the blues about bike lanes during a City Council hearing – had the packed house laughing while he slowly wheeled in sporting a goofy green helmet.
He even arrived with his favorite snack: the bike’s backside basket held a box of Junior’s cheesecake.
MARKOWITZ’S STATE OF THE BOROUGH (PDF)
Once onstage, he joked that his fake bike lane was “still under construction because DOT hadn’t yet removed all the seats in the auditorium to make room for it.”
It was an obvious shot at the agency for taking away one of three lanes along Prospect Park West last summer to create a two-way protected bike lane on the busy Park Slope roadway.
Markowitz later said he’s “not against bicycles” or “even against bike lanes” but ripped the city for “trying to stigmatize car owners” to “abandon their cars, when the fact is, even many bicyclists have cars.”
During the 89-minute speech Markowitz also:
•Announced that site-preparation work has finally begun on the city’s long-delayed, $70 million plan to restore the once-majestic Loews Kings Theater in Flatbush.
•Called for redesigning the elevated portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Sunset Park because car emissions are causing high asthma rates in the area (One idea the state is considering is replacing it with a tunnel).
•Said he expects the NBA’s Nets to move into the Barclays Center by Fall 2012 as planned.
•Called for Panasonic to relocate its operations to the borough
•Announced that he’s putting more than $1 million from his capital budget towards creating an “incubator” for start-up, food-related businesses in Central Brooklyn.
Markowitz later ended the speech with a climax by welcoming Stephanie Mancuso of Bensonhurst. She turned heads by performing some strip-tease style exercises hanging from a pole that she teaches at her Exotic Curves pole fitness studio in Bay Ridge.
“They say the poles help build strength and muscle tone and the entire workout is done fully clothed. Stephanie, take it from here – but please – don’t take it all off!” the Beep joked.