I had a wonderful weekend excursion this afternoon in Brooklyn, enjoying the Fifth Avenue bike path that Aaron Naparstek and others fought for. It was a wonderful stretch with many cyclists using the path in both directions. Three of us stopped off and had sushi at a place at about 7th Street or so. No doubt all the increased bicycle traffic and the calmer streets, encouraging pedestrians, have made these businesses much more profitable since the lane was installed.
The only incident that marred the ride was a complete nut driving an enormous pickup truck. This unfortunate individual was careening through the streets way over the speed limit when the lights were green, sending a heavy wake of air past us. When the lights were red, he swerved into the bike lane at every intersection to avoid hitting the lawful motorists who had stopped. He would then floor the truck through the intersection to make it 200 feet to the next red light. We watched the guy run six red lights before coming to a stop at a heavily trafficked street. Too bad none of us caught this guy’s plate number, or we could have MV-15′ed his ass.
We talked to a man who reminisced about the good old days of growing up in Brooklyn, playing stickball on the streets. He remembered the open streets without too many parked cars. Sometimes, only one car would be parked on a block. “We’d ask Tony the Butcher to go move his car, he’d say ‘sure kids’,” our acquaintance recalled. “Today it’d be: ‘Move my car???’ — they’d look at you like you had four heads!”
The purpose of our bike ride was to head over to Battle Hill, the highest (natural) point in Brooklyn at 220 feet above sea level. From that peaceful vantage point in Green-Wood Cemetery, one can listen to the cicadas and sit on a bench at the Altar to Liberty, where Minerva waves to the Statue of Liberty. Next to the Altar stands one of the earliest monuments to the 168,000 New Yorkers who fought in the Civil War, the downcast soldiers remembering the fallen.
This site was the subject of a controversy that got some coverage back in April. (See these filings from the Daily News, Channel 7, Brownstoner and Curbed.) You’ve heard this story a million times before. A developer wanted to build a tall building and neighbors are upset that the views will be hurt. In this case, the views are accessible to the public, and come to a very special spot. At the top of this post is a picture of the view. It’s far more majestic than it seems because it comes across so poorly in this photo. Here is an aerial photo (thanks Google maps) with an arrow that points to the Altar, and a square box showing the controversial site.
I’m not sure whether the developer or the activists won in the end or whether the issue has even been resolved. What should take priority, the public’s view or the need for the city to build its tax base by providing housing for reasonably wealthy residents?
The view at Battle Hill was marvelous and the setting divine. But don’t expect to get there on a bike. The cemetery occupies a great green space as vast as Prospect Park with beautiful winding roads, hills and ponds, and ornate tombstones, but it prohibits bicycling. It’s perfectly fine to drive a hugely disruptive S.U.V. through this sacred space, but a quiet bicyclist is forbidden.
- Bike Fags & Elitists Win 5th Ave. Bike Lane [Naparstek.com]
- MV-15: Even the Score [Naparstek.com]
- Battle Hill, Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn’s Highest Point 220 Feet [America's Roof]
- Saluting statues see view threat shrink in distance [Daily News]
- Fight Over The View–From A Cemetery? [WABC]
- Follow-up: View May Not Be Killed [Brownstoner]
- Green-Wood Views Live to Die Another Day [Curbed]
AD: I believe I just read that the developer’s architect has redesigned the building in such a way that it is set back from the street a bit and there is a little corner cut out of one of the upper floors that allows Minerva to still see Liberty.
Also, you’ll enjoy this exchange of about a year ago. The fact that you can’t ride a bike through Green-Wood is a real bummer. The explanation for this rule is somewhat mind-boggling…
—–Original Message—–
From: Aaron Naparstek
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004
To: The Green-Wood Cemetery General Information
Subject: Question about the Cemetary
To Whom it May Concern,
A couple of weeks ago, on our way home from Shannon’s Nursery, my wife and I took a detour through Green-Wood Cemetary. We loved it. What a beautiful place. We couldn’t believe we lived in Brooklyn so many years without visiting. Driving around the cemetary in a pick-up truck on a rainy day didn’t do Green-Wood justice. We vowed to come back on a nice day with our bikes and really take a look around.
Imagine our surprise when, a few weeks later, we were stopped at the front gate and told that bicycles are not allowed inside Green-Wood. We were really amazed by this rule, particularly since the noisy, polluting and potentially dangerous motor vehicle we were driving a few weeks before was permitted without a second thought. I am curious why this “no bikes” rule is in place and was hoping that someone could explain it to me.
Coincidentally, my wife and I visited Cleveland and Montreal this spring and summer. In both cities we discovered that cycling is allowed and encouraged in the big, beautiful, old historic cemetaries. Old urban cemetaries and bikes, it turns out, can be a really great combination.
Here in Brooklyn we have a shortage of safe, traffic-free places to ride bikes — particularly for children. It would be fantastic to be able to ride through historic Green-Wood Cemetary on a nice day with one’s kids. At 478-acres and deserving of quiet, cleanliness and the utmost respect, the bicycle seems to me to be the perfect mode of transportation inside the gates of Green-Wood. Likewise, I understand that, in the old days, Green-Wood was a place where New Yorkers came for picnics, hikes, and relaxation.
So, why no bikes in the cemetary? Why do you have this rule?
Respectfully,
Aaron Naparstek
Dear Mr. Naparstek:
Thank you for your e-mail of July 15th. The Cemetery has always prohibited bicycles and motorcycles as these are considered recreational in nature and not compatible with the decorum which should be observed in a Cemetery devoted to the interment and memorialization of the dead. Your pick-up truck, if it is as noisy as you make it sound should not have been permitted past the gate since vehicles with noisy exhaust systems are also prohibited as these interfere with the serenity and tranquility of Green-Wood. The nature of some of our roads (narrow, winding and hilly) could cause a serious hazard not only to the operator of a bicycle or motorcycle but also to walking visitors and motorists.
We appreciate your understanding in this matter and hope that you will consider one day taking a walking tour of this historic Cemetery.
Sincerely,
Kenneth A. Taylor
Vice President for Operations
Green-Wood
New York’s Historic Cemetery
500 25th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232
phone: 718-768-7300
fax: 718-788-1101
e-mail: kentaylor@green-wood.com
Wow. Aaron, great work. You’re one step ahead of me, as usual. Too bad they view bicycles as “recreation” and not a valid form of transportation. What happens if someone driving starts blasting music out their windows? Are they going to send someone in there to ask them to turn it down? I doubt it. Green-Wood Cemetery has got to be the largest bike-prohibited space in the city.