With Elected Officials Like These Who Needs Enemies?

As the holidays approach, it's important to gather together with friends and family and remember that in general human beings are self-interested sleazeballs.  Consider this Twitter thread, which I mentioned on the Bike Forecast, and which I feel warrants some additional treatment here:

I was biking to a community mtg. tonight when I saw multiple vehicles driving in the 3rd Ave. bike lane.

A man stuck his head out the window waving a non-NYPD placard, telling me to pull over, claiming to be a police officer.

When challenged, he hid the placard & his face.

1/

— Brian Howald (@bdhowald) December 12, 2017

I strongly advise you to read the entire thread, but if you want the "TLDR" (or "Cliff's Notes" as those of us who grew up in the analog age used to say), the bike lane-commandeering, cop-impersonating, light-running placard wielder turns out to be Marty Golden, the New York State senator who has been fighting speed cameras for years:

Of course Golden has good reason to be against cameras, since he loves to speed in front of schools:

Hey look at this, the Senator who helped kill the speed camera expansion has two unpaid school zone speeding violations—in front of P.S. 185 and J.H.S. 227, respectively. pic.twitter.com/tiaeP5OYrA

— Bay🚙Ridge🚗Drivers (@BayRidgeDrivers) December 12, 2017

And occasionally hit people:

BROOKLYN STATE SEN. Marty Golden paid a hospital visit yesterday to the 74-year-old woman he accidentally ran over with his SUV. Hariklia Zafiropoulos, 74, was in critical condition at Lutheran Medical Center after Golden hit her at Third Ave. and 84th St. in Bay Ridge on Saturday. Authorities said she had been crossing against the light. "It's devastating . . . it's a terrible accident," said Golden spokesman John Quaglione. "He will probably visit her every day," Quaglione said. "I know right now his focus is on her survival and her recovery.

I have no reason to doubt the victim was crossing against the light, because why would a well-connected politician and former cop receive any special treatment from the NYPD?

Oh, John Quaglione, also mentioned in the article, wants to legalize parking in bike lanes.

So there you go.

Speaking of the holidays, it's time for me to put on my Santa helmet:

Fire up the Menorah of Justice:

And present my brief and utterly self-serving Holiday Gift Guide!

Firstly, is there a person on your shopping list who has a head?  If yes, then obviously they're going to want to cover that head with a genuine BSNYC cap:

And since you can't go around wearing a cap and nothing else you should also get one of these so they can put it on their body:

Order the XXL and maybe they can even get away without wearing shorts!

Or, if they hate me and my blog, order a vintage-style Cue Ball Cap with the number of your choice instead!

Hot tip: I hear "3" is gonna be the hot new digit for 2018.  And if you enter the following discount code you get $5 off:

BSNYCCB

Then there are my books:

You can get these wherever fine books are sold, just as long as they also carry books that aren't fine and are all about bikes.  And just listen to these rave reviews from people who purchased them on popular online retail stores named after rivers:

"This guy seems the sort who loves to hear himself talk."

Oh god yes!  You have no idea.  I've listened to myself on this podcast like 50 times already:

How to bike in the city: advice from @BrooklynSpoke, @bikesnobnyc, and @rosie_bo. https://t.co/q72Z3O8nWW pic.twitter.com/EwuRcUhWVq

— Lifehacker (@lifehacker) December 11, 2017

My only regret is nobody has yet asked me to record an audiobook.

I mean nobody would ever listen to it, but I certainly would.

Maybe I'll make one just for myself.

And while I'm pushing merchandise that has my name on it, who doesn't like a nice cup of coffee?

Not only is Just Coffee in Madison, WI as smug as they come, but they're also having a sale:

If you really think about it, it would cost you more money not to order!

And the fact that you should also patronize the fine companies who advertise on the right-hand side of this blog goes without saying.

Even so, I'm going to say it anyway.

Finally, Peter Sagan is putting on his advocacy helmet:

I couldn't be with Governor @Schwarzenegger and Mayor @Anne_Hidalgo today in Paris but I support their efforts to switch people from driving to cycling. It is good for your health, it makes you happier and it is good for the planet!! @c40cities @Regions20 pic.twitter.com/GS1p1C4DfQ

— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) December 11, 2017

No word on whether or not he'll be giving up the custom Dodge Charger:

“We explained to him, ‘Peter, this [the car shown in the Fast and the Furious – ed.] is not a very functional car. It is a gimmick car. It is a car done for the movie. It is probably not very nice inside, it is not going to be what you think.’ So he has a Porche Turbo S 911, and he basically wanted a combination of a Porsche 911 with the violence and the raw power of an American muscle car.”

I'm guessing he's not.