“I’m going to use whatever means necessary to stop you, and that’s for your safety,” the officer tells him, drawing gasps and guffaws from the gathered crowd. A widely-shared video of the confrontation shows an unidentified officer-his SUV jack-knifed across the bike lane, the mangled CitiBike stuck under its wheels-accusing the cyclist of riding recklessly. A near Tompkins Square Park July 5-just three days after the mayor announced a new campaign to protect cyclists in response to the recent killings. ( Streetsblog, July 10) But Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has made traffic safety a supposed priority with his Vision Zero campaign, sparked further outrage just a few days later by defending a police officer who “forcefully stopped” a cyclist in the East Village-running over his CitiBike in the process. My bicycle saved my life.Ĭity Council member Brad Lander has introduced a bill to impound vehicles that rack up five or more moving violations in any 12-month period. My bicycle provided me with the socioeconomic mobility necessary to escape. My bicycle established a sense of independence, strengthened my ability to be self sufficient, and provided me with the confidence necessary to advocate for myself, my rights, and my needs in public space… Eventually, my bicycle allowed me to provide for myself when I began working a full time job at the age of fourteen. As The Villager reports, Hightman had been an advocate for bicylists, who had recently posted on social media:Īs a homeless youth deeply entrenched in the trappings of poverty and parental abuse and neglect, my first bicycle offered a way to seek respite from the horrors of my surroundings and human experience, if only for a few glorious minutes. Media reports did not indicate that he was arrested. The driver initially fled, but later returned to the scene. Hightman was found by police laying on the street, unconscious and unresponsive, with head trauma. ( Bicycling, July 10) Hundreds of people gathered at 6th Avenue and West 23rd Street after the slaying of Hightman there on June 24. Hightman was the 12th cyclist killed on New York City streets in 2019 10 were killed in all of 2018. ( Gothamist, June 25) And Devra Freelander, 28, an artist, was killed by a cement truck driver, also in Brooklyn. Ernest Askew, 57, riding an e-bike in Brooklyn, was hit and killed by a teen driver. Three deaths came in a one-week period, finally prompting demands for public action: Robyn Hightman, a 20-year-old bicycle messenger and track racer, was killed by a truck driver in Manhattan. The central bank suspended charges on cash deposits at banks and directed lenders to open their branches on Saturdays to encourage customers to turn in their old notes.Hundreds of bicyclists staged a “die-in” in New York’s Washington Square Park July 9, expressing outrage over the spate of killings of cyclists on the city’s streets. Banks hired 1.4 million agents to fan out to markets and rural areas to encourage people to open accounts, aiming to avoid a last-minute rush. The hope was that when people dropped their old money at the bank, many would choose that moment to switch to making electronic payments for their day-to-day finances. The central bank changed the colors of the 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes and the new bills went into circulation from Dec. The nation’s top court then ordered a halt to the currency swap, saying it was unconstitutional. But banks couldn’t issue enough of the new notes to replace the ones being handed in, creating a cash shortage that frustrated citizens and disrupted businesses. The idea was to get cash that was circulating under the radar into the regular banking system by compelling people to exchange their old money for newly designed naira bills. Nigeria’s government triggered economic chaos with a botched plan to bring the country’s vast informal economy under control.
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