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WILLIAMSBURG, N.Y. (WPIX) -
Bicyclists in Brooklyn who were scheduled to strip down and take to the streets in protest Saturday revised their plans -- pinning plastic breasts to their jackets instead as they rolled into a snowstorm.
Tons of bikers joined Saturday's "Freedom Ride," the latest retaliation by cyclists infuriated with the city's decision to remove a 14-block bike lane from Bedford Ave.
The bike lane was reportedly removed preceding the mayoral elections to appease the neighborhood's local Satmar Jewish population, who complained that scantily-clad Bedford bikers were an offensive sight to the Orthodox community. Members reportedly didn't want to see women in shorts, said Baruch Herzfeld, who runs a bike-sharing program in a community where Jewish women wear ankle-length skirts and long-sleeved blouses and men wear heavy coats and hats, even in summer.
Though protestors planned on protesting topless, the fierce snowstorm forced them to switch gears.
Safety was also cited as a reason for the two-year old lane's removal, as residents say reckless cyclists routinely flew through traffic and around school buses, endangering pedestrians and people getting out of their cars.
There's still no word from City Hall is considering getting the land reinstated.
Tons of bikers joined Saturday's "Freedom Ride," the latest retaliation by cyclists infuriated with the city's decision to remove a 14-block bike lane from Bedford Ave.
The bike lane was reportedly removed preceding the mayoral elections to appease the neighborhood's local Satmar Jewish population, who complained that scantily-clad Bedford bikers were an offensive sight to the Orthodox community. Members reportedly didn't want to see women in shorts, said Baruch Herzfeld, who runs a bike-sharing program in a community where Jewish women wear ankle-length skirts and long-sleeved blouses and men wear heavy coats and hats, even in summer.
Though protestors planned on protesting topless, the fierce snowstorm forced them to switch gears.
Safety was also cited as a reason for the two-year old lane's removal, as residents say reckless cyclists routinely flew through traffic and around school buses, endangering pedestrians and people getting out of their cars.
There's still no word from City Hall is considering getting the land reinstated.
