Walking and biking will improve public health, as giving New Yorker’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables (better foods) in their community and having more physical education programs in schools. As Public Advocate I would like to: 1. Increase the amount of bike lanes in all five boroughs, connecting them to transit hubs and shopping districts; 2. Encourage the MTA to start a pilot program for bicycle racks on city buses, starting between Staten Island and Brooklyn; 3. Bring back vigorous physical education programs to schools, especially in grades K-5; 4. Eliminate unhealthy foods from school cafeterias; 6. Lobby the city to allow all city workers an extra 15-minute break every two days to be active (i.e. walking); 7. Ensure that the city follows through on making public parks available in every community in all five boroughs, as part of the Mayor’s PLANYC 2030 proposal; 8. Make safe bicycle parking available at all train stations and main bus stops. All candidates for public office must encourage more walking and biking and this is something that I have been discussing on the campaign trail.

1. Yes, if New Yorkers exercised more, obesity rates would decrease; walking and biking are among the most practical forms of exercise. Because childhood obesity is such a gripping problem in our city, the fight begins in our schools, where we could implement bicycling and walking regimens into physical education programs, and perhaps a “Bike To School” initiative to complement “Bike To Work Day”. As a civil liberties lawyer, I have defended the bicyclists of Critical Mass against ongoing police harassment and confiscation of their bikes. Creating a bike-friendly city doesn’t just call for defending the constitutional rights of bicyclists, but also expanding their right-of-way on the road. Transportation Alternatives has had great success convincing the city to open bridges to bikes; the Verrazano Bridge should join their ranks, since it was designed accordingly. We need to expand bike lanes all over the city, and drivers need to respect them, which may well require increasing fines for blocking or parking in them. Finally, bicyclists need to have access not just to roads, but also to buildings, so I support legislation granting bike access to office buildings with freight elevators and requiring commercial landlords to provide bike storage.

Yes, increasing walking and biking in New York City would improve public health. That’s why we support the expansion of safe bike lanes, the phasing in of congestion pricing, and tax incentives for alternative for bikes, which would encourage more people to walk and bike to get around which would also make it safer to do so. We also need to make crosswalks safer for pedestrians, having cars stop farther from the where people walk and enforcing “don’t block the box” laws more rigorously.

Getting our children outdoors and active is a key component of improving public health and ensuring a brighter future for the next generation of New Yorkers. I am a proud co-sponsor of Intro 38, legislation passed last month by the City Council, which will require buildings to provide access and storage for bicycles. Together with the Bicycle Parking Bill, legislation also passed by the Council that requires parking garages to provide bicycle parking, we are taking small but important steps in the right direction of promoting basic, daily exercise for New Yorkers of all ages. As Public Advocate, I will explore additional legislative solutions for increasing walking and biking, and will use my appointment on the City Planning Commission to address neighborhood needs - like the lack of adequate green space, grocery stores and fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods – that may contribute to childhood obesity.

We need to combat New York’s obesity epidemic by utilizing a variety of approaches. There are several severe health consequences of obesity, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and obesity often begins in childhood.
Encouraging more New Yorkers to walk, bike, and exercise should become part of the City’s long-term transportation plan. In my district, I’ve helped create green space and opened access to the Queens waterfront, securing funding to create a greenway that would connect with Brooklyn and run the entire length of the East River, and I’ve spoken out to create bike lanes along Queens Boulevard. As Public Advocate, I’ll continue to support bike lanes and greenways that would allow more New Yorkers to safely walk and bike in the city.
But to combat childhood obesity, we also need to make sure that children, families, and all New Yorkers get access to fresh and healthy foods. I’ve supported efforts to help greenmarkets process food stamps and to provide breakfasts to students in school classrooms. When studies documented a clear link between obesity in 9th graders and fast food near schools, I proposed a plan to ban fast food restaurants within 0.1 miles of schools. As Public Advocate, I’ll continue to implement policy solutions to reduce obesity rates.