Cyclist Stabs Woman Walking in Queens

She must have known him, one would think.

I personally think that automobiles are necessary to support a city with a population the size and density of NYC and,

Many urban planners would beg to differ. In fact, population density and the need for automobiles are inversely proportional. It's in the less densely populated areas like the suburbs where cars are more valuable. The city itself has a great public transit system. The denser the city, the fewer people you want owning cars precisely because they're wasteful of limited traffic space and cause congestion.

given that, encouraging more bicycles to ride our streets will simply result in more bike-riding injuries and fatalities.

Now that's complete and utter nonsense. What do you think causes cyclist fatalities? Cars! People don't just crash and die. Even in races like the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, rider deaths are vanishingly rare. They ride two to three times the speed of your average NYC commuter, yet spectacular crashes in the peloton don't result in much more than road rash, bruises and an occasional broken bone. And when was the last time you heard about a bicyclist jumping a curb, plowing into a crowd and killing a few people? That's not even considering the health benefits from even mild aerobic exercise compared with the completely sedentary activity that is driving. You're so blinded by your love of cars that you have no logic backing up your argument, only your personal beliefs.

eyekantspeel, are you suggesting we should ditch bicycles for cars? Whats with the bike hate?

It's kind of obvious that UPS is not about to switch to bikes but that doesn't mean we couldn't accommodate more bikes and blades on the streets.

another jilted boyfriend.

New York City was a town where residents walked from place to place long before the advent of the automobile.

People were using horse and carriages to get about town and to transport goods prior to the invention of the horseless carriage. Cars take up less room and are probably a good deal safer and less messy than horses. It's also a fact that New York has grown a lot since that time.

Automobiles are necessary to support the number of people we have living and working in our skyscrapers. Smaller, more efficient cars would be a good thing for moving people about the city, and simple economics is driving people towards that. A bunch of people riding bicycles, not so much in my opinion.

What's the point of calling this dude a "cyclist?" Why is he defined by his bike? Weird reporting... very weird.

Well, simple logic says that, due to space demands, there's a limit to the number of cars from which the city can derive a benefit.

I think that when pollution is a major problem, average driving speeds are 4 mph, car traffic slows down more efficient forms of travel... then yes, space needs to be reclaimed.

The point of that is not just a cool catch phrase, but rather, is grounded in the notion that you can build streets for a wider variety of uses.

Other cities have done this very effectively - increased public transportation speed, efficiency, and ridership; reduced the number of cars, reduced traffic congestion; and increased cyclist safety.

I hate to hear people say that groundbreaking, visionary things in the field of urban planning aren't possible in NYC. It's the best city in the world, it should be leading the way.

New York City was a town where residents walked from place to place long before the advent of the automobile.

the streets renaissance.... reclaiming NYC public space.

People have been driving on the streets of New York for almost 100 years -- NYC was never a bicycle town, so it's not clear to me how they are looking to "reclaim" anything.

Streetsblog is an anti-car group promoting bicycles over motor vehicles. I can see how some might think that's a good idea; I personally think that automobiles are necessary to support a city with a population the size and density of NYC and, given that, encouraging more bicycles to ride our streets will simply result in more bike-riding injuries and fatalities.

However, I agree that just because someone on a bike stabbed someone doesn't have anything to do with the merits of their agenda. The person who did the stabbing could have been walking, rollerblading, in a car, whatever -- the mode of transporation is not relevant to the crime itself, it's just an interesting fact.

Streetsblog covers the streets renaissance. just because somebody on a bike stabbed somebody doesn't mean it's information that is in anyway pertinent to reclaiming NYC public space.

Glad the woman is at least in stable condition.

I have a feeling there is something more to this story...

between this stabbing and the eerily similar williamsburg stabbing of couple weeks ago, you think there would be a sketch of what this person looks like. i haven't read anything about that. anyone else?

That's really disturbing. Hope she and her daughter are ok.

Let's see if Streetsblog has the honesty to publish this. So far, it is not up on their silly, self-righteous site.

If it were a motorist, they would.

What if, instead of "cyclist...", it was "Pedestrian stabs woman walking in Queens"? I don't see how you're trying to tie this to cyclists. BTW, what are the statistics for cycling stabbers anyway?

Let's see if Streetsblog has the honesty to publish this. So far, it is not up on their silly, self-righteous site.

If it were a motorist, they would.

Any description of the perp?

It's worth noting that this is the second time this month a bicyclist stabbed someone in this way.

http://gothamist.com/2008/06/12/williamsburg_stabber_strikes_again.php

On that stabbing, police noted that it was probably a gang initiation thing.

The heat is bringing the Crazies out . . .

even the thugs are going green.

Another victim of Critical Mass! Will we ever be safe???