Environmental Groups, Cyclists Face Opposition in Williamsburg
A group of “bicycle clowns” showed up on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg yesterday morning to defend their turf — the new two-way, 1.5-mile bike lane the city installed this past fall.
The lane raised the ire of non-cyclists in the community when “No Stopping” signs accompanied the freshly painted paths. There is now no legal curbside parking along a 20-block stretch of the largely industrial waterfront road, a subtraction of approximately 256 parking spaces, according to the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) web site.
The colorfully clad demonstrators yesterday were from the environmental group Time’s Up. They say they’re defending the bike lane against threats from a group of vocal opponents, made up at least partially of members of the neighborhood’s Hasidic community, who have reportedly objected to the “immodesty” of the hipster cyclists.
Some opponents have even threatened to block the bike lanes with private school buses, a Time’s Up press release said, which would endanger cyclists by forcing them out into the middle of the road.
But bicycle clown Ben Shepherd reported that yesterday’s theatrical defense of cycling was ... read more
Story by Phoebe Neidl, photo by Clarissa Roudabush
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The Eagle received this press release:
The City College of New York (CCNY) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding calling for increased cooperation between the College and
EPA’s Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response (OSWER) and Region 2.
The Memorandum, which runs for five years and is renewable, aims to build a long-term recruitment and educational relationship that will achieve three goals:
— Bringing qualified employees into EPA's workforce.
— Promoting positive awareness for the agency's work.
— Facilitating information and technology transfer from EPA to CCNY to assist in curriculum development and foster an exchange of ideas with faculty.
“This memorandum opens the door to exciting new opportunities for City College students and faculty to participate in and benefit from EPA’s programs, and it is a ringing endorsement of our success in preparing
students from diverse backgrounds for science and technology-related careers,” said CCNY President Dr. Gregory H. Williams at a signing ceremony held in his office.
“As we strive to become a leader in environmental education, our new relationship with EPA will help us enrich our curriculum and play a greater role in addressing the environmental challenges that confront our city, our nation and the world.”
“The environmental challenges we face today and into the future require a workforce that is well-educated, dedicated to the cause and ready for action," said Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Regional Administrator.
The programs covered under the Memorandum will help EPA carry out the President’s Management Agenda as it relates to strategic management of human capital through the use of innovative and progressive recruitment tools. Specifically, it addresses a dwindling supply of diverse students pursuing science and technology-related careers.
Components of the program covered by the Memorandum will include: summer internship opportunities for CCNY undergraduate and graduate students; a Student Educational Employment Program that will enable EPA to recruit CCNY students majoring in engineering, physical and social sciences, economics, computer science or public administration to fill positions within that program; and a Visiting Environmental Professional Program that will bring EPA officials to campus to speak to classes and conduct mini courses, lectures and seminars on current environmental topics, among other things.
To learn more about EPA partnerships and programs, visit www.epa.gov/region2.
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