Gothamist: Another Cyclist Killed in Brooklyn

r1b2

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:35:43 -0500

i just read this and I and my family are deeply saddened. Jon Milstein was a terrific fellow. I coached a baseball team on which his younger son played and Jon was always there, always ready to help, to do whatever was needed, and always with a smile and some funny stories. Jon even helped out by providing replacement jerseys for the team one season, really flashy stuff, which led to a crazy bit of bureaucratic ado with the league, all of which Jon and I found amusing. Jon was a class act, and a delight to be around. This is a real tragedy, and a real loss to Brooklyn and the families around him.

handsomedevil

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:04:43 -0500

The Brooklyn Paper article originally claimed he was not wearing a helmet, but the site has several comments from witnesses saying he was.

Maypo

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:19:20 -0500

Neither the article nor comments made any mention of whether this poor guy was wearing a helmet or not. There's plenty of forums for geary v fixie, but I don't think following the report of a fellow cyclist's death is one of them.

JanetG

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:31:46 -0500

I don't know where 15 gets the "fixed gear dudes are the main perps of unsafe riding" statistic from. There's a lot of unsafe riding to go around, on all kinds of bikes. What is TA talking about "infrequent stop lights" on 8th Avenue? There are lights at almost every corner, at least from 3rd St. north to Flatbush. It would seem most cyclists don't notice, because they sure don't stop.

babyhitler

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:25:49 -0500

this is total fixed gear mentality. The downside to a fixed gear is that you need to stop hard on lights and this hurts your knees and momentum. Most fixie riders just blow past lights cause breaking is a bitch. They usually get past them 90% of the time but 10% is gonna hurt. I don't know if this guy rides a fixie or not but the fixed gear dudes are the main perps of unsafe riding.

The Edge

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:34:08 -0500

Man, go fucking bitch on streetsblog.

Polemicist

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:14:37 -0500

The citywide speed limit is 25 mph. People regularly exceed that by 100% or more on major avenues in the neighborhood. I can easily bike 25mph, the speed limit for vehicles, and cars routinely go much, much faster than me. Anyone going over 50 miles per hour on a street in the city should be arrested for reckless driving and have their car seized. It is no more or less dangerous than a drunk driver. Most deaths in this city are due to speed, not drunk driving. Why do drunk drivers get singled out?

drewo

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:13:36 -0500

Drivers who have struck and/or killed someone with their automobile and claim that they "didn't see anything/anybody" should not be allowed to continue driving.

Avaz383

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:01:44 -0500

I was hit by a car around the corner from there on 8th Ave and St. John's place last week. Thank God I wasn't killed, but in addition to cyclists needing to be more careful, since we're not protected by a steel cage, the city needs to step up their campaign to make drivers more aware that bikes share the road. Since you can't force drivers to be more patient, etc. perhaps we can increase the number of road signs to remind drivers of cyclists, ever more painted bike lanes, and higher penalties for drives who ignore the need to be more careful when behind the wheel. I went to Methodist Hospital too, but at least I was able to leave.

GM

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:44:29 -0500

Remember when you were a kid and your mom made you put that orange pennant on a long pole off the back of your bike? I wonder if we need to go back to something like this. Bikes really need to be more visible.

woodendesigner

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:29:24 -0500

As someone that bikes a lot and has had more than my fair share of close calls because of unsafe drivers I can totally see why this happened. While I do believe that many drivers need to slow down and be more aware of what's around them, I also see a lot of bicyclists that blow red lights, who don't pay attention and think that just because they are on a bike that the rules of the road do not apply to them. It does not matter if you are in a car or a bike you need to be aware of others all around you and don't take stupid risks when other peoples safety are on the line.

zodak

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:22:49 -0500

west on president st is also downwhill so the biker might have been going way too fast.

LessLethargic

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:00:30 -0500

I live on 8th Ave & I see people doing about 60mph on it daily. That's obviously not what happened here - just saying. That street is a warzone.

handsomedevil

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:36:55 -0500

From the information given it sounds like the cyclist and bus were both going west on President. Bus makes right turn onto 8th Ave while cyclist is trying to ride through on the right.

Jen Chung

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:30:07 -0500

I accidentally deleted the cyclist's first name. My apologies--John had it there.

BQE

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:23:48 -0500

you could at least give the victim's full name instead of just referring to him as "the 50-year old" or by his last name.

drewo

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:12:02 -0500

It's not clear here who had the right-of-way at the intersection.

Gothamist_Cynic

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:04:03 -0500

Also don't ride towards oncoming traffic.

maevemealone

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:59:13 -0500

Please cyclists: stop at red lights before going through the intersection. You'll only be hit by a bus once.