Awesome video! Might be one of your best. I love the investigative journalism, really just doing the due diligence that many of us lack the patience to do. Petition signed!
Except this person doesn’t actually know her or her business, so how is it really shining light on anything? Also, people paraphrase and twist other people’s words all the time so I highly doubt a biased youtube video is supposed to educate you. But carry on.
@@haha_thatshilarious With all due respect, Public servants and individuals that push for or against certain political movements should be open to scrutiny. I am not attacking Mrs. Argento or her business. I am attacking the arguments being made and the tactics being used. I believe I even respectfully agree with her decision on Monitor street in this video (ruclips.net/video/DLA60ZNR_Sc/видео.html). Am I biased? Of course, just as she is. We all have different views on what would make the street better. Edit: By the way, as the author of this video, I believe I am also worthy of scrutiny. So if you think I twisted someones words and can cite sources, I am more than happy to include them in a future addendum.
@@haha_thatshilarious You don't have to know her personally to judge her actions to torpedo a bike line which would benefit the community but impact her bottom line. You "highly doubt" her transparent attempt to sway public opinion is motivated purely by self interest? Well then grow up!
No disrespect but you honestly have no clue what you’re talking about in terms of businesses and bike lanes.. You should find out how many businesses closed on Grand Street due to the bike lanes.. Better yet go to Queens and find out how many businesses on queens boulevard closed due to the bike lanes that no one uses… Flyers in Polish are because we have a large Polish community.. It has nothing to do with Poland or it’s infrastructure so it’s ridiculous to point that out. We don’t live in Poland or any other country.. We live in Greenpoint with an extremely old infrastructure and our side streets, homes and under ground utilities ( water and Gas ) are already taking a beating.. The problem is Make McGuinness Safe won’t tell the truth and doesn’t care about any of that! Let’s get back to McGuinness.. You should also do your own research and not just regurgitate what you’re told.. Making McGuinness Safe should not include any bike lanes! Turning signals that were installed and worked were removed after a few months.. McGuinness is an Evacuation Route! It’s also used by Emergency Services! The teacher that died, crossed Against the light and was intoxicated! Every reason being used by Make McGuinness Safe is a load of crap and if you don’t actually live here and haven’t lived here for generations then you wouldn’t know that.. Also the ones behind Make McGuinness Safe only have 1 agenda and that is to get rid of cars.. The problem with that is those people aren’t rooted in this neighborhood so whatever they push doesn’t mean anything when the end product is a huge failure.. Every bike lane has been nothing but a disaster in terms of creating more congestion.. This neighborhood doesn’t need bike lanes along curbs on a boulevard that is necessary to our neighborhood. Maybe you should ask if those cyclist injuries may have been avoided if helmets were worn or if they followed traffic laws, or if they didn’t ride like lunatics?! Electric vehicles will not be safer for cyclists but rather just the opposite due to them being heavier.. I can keep going but I’ll leave it here
If locals are the biggest supporters of local businesses, then they should just stop patronizing Broadway Stages events and businesses along McGuinness Blvd that align with Broadway Stages. Then they'll see what really hurts their bottom line.
As someone who commutes by bike on a daily basis, I feel it’s important to point out an emerging issue that isn't being talked about. Yes, older studies prove that bike lanes can make roads safer. However, the growing presence of e-bikes and motorized scooters (both capable of traveling at high speeds) in recent years has brought about a radical transformation to what were once calm/protected bike lanes. Unfortunately, this transformation has resulted in the city's bike lanes becoming increasingly hazardous for both cyclists and pedestrians in recent years. Considering this, I'm genuinely concerned that adding bike lanes to McGuinness Blvd may invite further chaos.
Even though the argument that bike lanes will hurt business is wrong, we need to stop engaging with it. Instead, we need to reframe the conversation. Here's how. Ok, you say it will hurt business? For the sake of argument, ok you're right. It will hurt business. You're saying it will cause traffic and inconvenience? Ok, let's say you're right. Reduced parking will cause inconvenience? Ok, you're right again. But I have proof, empirical proof, that it will save lives. Are you saying you are willing to literally kill your neighbor for the sake of a parking spot? For the sake of a few extra minutes in traffic? If I knew it would safe someone's life, I would park my car on the moon and swim home. To say that we should kill our neighbors to save a business, or to save a parking spot is selfish, cruel, sociopathic, and evil. Someone espousing that position is an evil person. In a democracy, in a community where we care about the well-being of our neighbors, the opinions of such a person should be completely disregarded. Don't argue. Reframe it. These people are evil sociopaths who want to literally kill their neighbors for their own convenience. It's not wrong, so don't be afraid to say it out loud.
I think both are important arguments to make. Because, unfortunately, many business owners see the current reality as an accepted status quo and don't really care about whether or not it will improve safety. They see safety as a cost or tradeoff, but the thing is it's not either-or... it's both. Bike lanes improve foot traffic to businesses while ALSO making roads safer for everyone.
There are many cyclists in Greenpoint that agree that they don’t attempt to bike down McGuinness nor do they have a desire to. They’ve expressed that sentiment, yet no one acknowledges their opinion. That’s like saying “I can’t bike on the highway, so let’s fight to remove the highway”. Just bike somewhere else, like it really isn’t rocket science. As for safety, improvements can be made that far exceed the improvements suggested by the DOT, but no one from MMS has advocated for those measures. There should be conversation happening between both opposing advocacy groups to reach solutions that benefit the whole community not just those who are making this a personal agenda. If it’s solely about safety, then why push for a bike lane? That’s not addressing the concern.
Hey, thanks again for the different perspective. Here are some thoughts. 1) I'm sure there are people that have no interested in biking on McGuinness Blvd. With a city of 8 million people you will find every permutation of an idea. The thing is that we have to work with the data that we have. Based on the support that this MMS campaign has received from both pedestrians and bikers, there seems to be a considerable number of people that are in favor of road slimming, and if they can get a bike lane in that process, then why not? 2) In regards to alternative safety improvements, sure! If you have some links or reference material to alternatives I would love to learn more :) 3) It is about safety, which is why the main focus is road slimming and dieting. The problem is that this road was built during a different era, when Greenpoint had a more sparse population and industry had a larger presence. It was also built during a time when we had less care about the impact on local communities of building arterial blvds that connected highways. Neither of these are the case anymore. Greenpoint itself has changed to accommodate a larger population and the area around it will only continue to grow, while the industry will shrink as we have seen on the waterfront. This road will only grow more hazardous if we expect that more people will cross it and drive on it. However, slimming this street and filling it with more pedestrian pavement seems like overkill. If you can add a bike lanes that will also reduce the number of people that need to drive on this street, then why not? Bike lanes also, historically, result in fewer injuries and deaths. This further pushes for the safety argument. As I've shown in the sources document in the video description, adding bike lanes has historically decreased injuries and congestion on a street in several case studies (source [24])
You're not understanding the nature of McGuinness. It was literally created to be a conduit between the BQE and other parts of Queens / Brooklyn and Pulaski /Long Island City, and serves local traffic very well. The businesses along and off it aren't mostly shops and cafes that benefit from foot traffic -- they're scrap metal processors, car washes, art studios, a major supermarket (one of the few with a parking lot), other industrial businesses, and yes film and TV stages, employing hundreds of neighbors and other New Yorkers. The boulevard's stoplights, and recent improvements to pedestrian islands work well. I and many Greenpointers have crossed that street for years and have no issues. Bike lanes? Yes! But not on McGuinness. There are other, better candidates for bike lanes. I also use quiet sides streets, which will be less quiet when cars divert to them if this awful plan comes to fruition. (Google maps may not select McGuinness, but locals know to use side streets -- never mind online maps.)
Thank you for the alternative perspective and expressing your concerns with civility. I certainly considered some of the points you expressed. 1) Just because a street was once designed for something doesn't mean it cannot be redesigned for something else. Cities are dynamic and trying to stay stagnant will likely hurt the businesses more than this plan. When McGuinness was designed, Brooklyn was also much more industry focused and considerably less populace. This is no longer the case. The neighborhood now has a considerable number of apartments and high rise apartments are going up to the west of it. A car oriented solution will only make the congestions and fatalities on this road worse. 2) While you are correct there is a lot of industry along McGuinness, this actually only makes up about a third of the bordering zoning. See attached map in sources [21]. I also have nothing against these industries expressing disagreement. But that wasn't the gripe I tried to convey. The gripe I tried to convey was that these larger industries groups, were trying to shape the narrative as though small mom and pop shops will be hurt. This is simply dishonest. The petition stated that these businesses would hurt. Looking at these shops (Appendix A in sources) and just from personal experience walking around this neighborhood, there is very little reason restaurants, cafes, bakeries, etc. Should have "Keep McGuinness Moving" posters hanging. These businesses and their customers would only benefit from this plan. 3) As for heavy industry being impacted, I am not convinced this has to be the case with this new plan. As the case studies demonstrated [24], in every instance where bike lanes were added, we saw a decrease in overall traffic. This would suggest to me that industry vehicles would actually benefit from this plan as their commute times will be shorter. They won't have to deal with as much traffic from private vehicles. Edit: realize it might not be clear, I have a list of sources in the video description that I am referencing.
This concern over local industry seems entirely unfounded and counter to the empirical data from similar transformations. Time and time again, studies have shown that cutting down on car lanes has an overall net-decrease in traffic along the road. Less traffic means trucks will be able to pass through more easily, and protected bike lanes means truck drivers no longer have to worry about cyclists darting in between cars. At the same time, consider the potential benefits that would directly impact those businesses along the corridor. Not only would they expect higher foot traffic due to increased cycling activity, employees would now have a safe alternative to get to work. That ultimately means those parking spaces can be repurposed to be more productive for said businesses.
This channel is criminally underrated. Keep fighting the good fight, solidarity from Brisbane, Australia... ✊️🥰
Thats so nice of you! Thank you!!!
Awesome video! Might be one of your best. I love the investigative journalism, really just doing the due diligence that many of us lack the patience to do. Petition signed!
Awesome ❤
This channel should have subscriber volume somewhere between CityNerd and NJB. Highly underrated!
The algorithm giveth and the algorithm taketh away. I appreciate the kind words and always appreciate the like/comment/share 😊
Thanks for the support friends! Had to re-upload this episode do some blemishes in the previous version. Always appreciate your support!
Gina D'Argento seems like a real piece of work. Thanks for shining a light on her bad faith arguments!
Except this person doesn’t actually know her or her business, so how is it really shining light on anything? Also, people paraphrase and twist other people’s words all the time so I highly doubt a biased youtube video is supposed to educate you. But carry on.
@@haha_thatshilarious With all due respect, Public servants and individuals that push for or against certain political movements should be open to scrutiny. I am not attacking Mrs. Argento or her business. I am attacking the arguments being made and the tactics being used. I believe I even respectfully agree with her decision on Monitor street in this video (ruclips.net/video/DLA60ZNR_Sc/видео.html).
Am I biased? Of course, just as she is. We all have different views on what would make the street better.
Edit: By the way, as the author of this video, I believe I am also worthy of scrutiny. So if you think I twisted someones words and can cite sources, I am more than happy to include them in a future addendum.
@@haha_thatshilarious You don't have to know her personally to judge her actions to torpedo a bike line which would benefit the community but impact her bottom line. You "highly doubt" her transparent attempt to sway public opinion is motivated purely by self interest? Well then grow up!
No disrespect but you honestly have no clue what you’re talking about in terms of businesses and bike lanes.. You should find out how many businesses closed on Grand Street due to the bike lanes.. Better yet go to Queens and find out how many businesses on queens boulevard closed due to the bike lanes that no one uses… Flyers in Polish are because we have a large Polish community.. It has nothing to do with Poland or it’s infrastructure so it’s ridiculous to point that out. We don’t live in Poland or any other country.. We live in Greenpoint with an extremely old infrastructure and our side streets, homes and under ground utilities ( water and Gas ) are already taking a beating.. The problem is Make McGuinness Safe won’t tell the truth and doesn’t care about any of that!
Let’s get back to McGuinness.. You should also do your own research and not just regurgitate what you’re told.. Making McGuinness Safe should not include any bike lanes! Turning signals that were installed and worked were removed after a few months.. McGuinness is an Evacuation Route! It’s also used by Emergency Services!
The teacher that died, crossed Against the light and was intoxicated! Every reason being used by Make McGuinness Safe is a load of crap and if you don’t actually live here and haven’t lived here for generations then you wouldn’t know that.. Also the ones behind Make McGuinness Safe only have 1 agenda and that is to get rid of cars.. The problem with that is those people aren’t rooted in this neighborhood so whatever they push doesn’t mean anything when the end product is a huge failure.. Every bike lane has been nothing but a disaster in terms of creating more congestion.. This neighborhood doesn’t need bike lanes along curbs on a boulevard that is necessary to our neighborhood. Maybe you should ask if those cyclist injuries may have been avoided if helmets were worn or if they followed traffic laws, or if they didn’t ride like lunatics?! Electric vehicles will not be safer for cyclists but rather just the opposite due to them being heavier.. I can keep going but I’ll leave it here
@@jsab871 my sources are in the video description. You are welcome to provide your own for your list of accusations.
Great stuff, super informative!
Great video. Safe streets activists need to be ready to combat losers like Broadway Studios.
If locals are the biggest supporters of local businesses, then they should just stop patronizing Broadway Stages events and businesses along McGuinness Blvd that align with Broadway Stages. Then they'll see what really hurts their bottom line.
As someone who commutes by bike on a daily basis, I feel it’s important to point out an emerging issue that isn't being talked about. Yes, older studies prove that bike lanes can make roads safer. However, the growing presence of e-bikes and motorized scooters (both capable of traveling at high speeds) in recent years has brought about a radical transformation to what were once calm/protected bike lanes. Unfortunately, this transformation has resulted in the city's bike lanes becoming increasingly hazardous for both cyclists and pedestrians in recent years. Considering this, I'm genuinely concerned that adding bike lanes to McGuinness Blvd may invite further chaos.
Even though the argument that bike lanes will hurt business is wrong, we need to stop engaging with it. Instead, we need to reframe the conversation. Here's how.
Ok, you say it will hurt business? For the sake of argument, ok you're right. It will hurt business. You're saying it will cause traffic and inconvenience? Ok, let's say you're right. Reduced parking will cause inconvenience? Ok, you're right again. But I have proof, empirical proof, that it will save lives. Are you saying you are willing to literally kill your neighbor for the sake of a parking spot? For the sake of a few extra minutes in traffic?
If I knew it would safe someone's life, I would park my car on the moon and swim home. To say that we should kill our neighbors to save a business, or to save a parking spot is selfish, cruel, sociopathic, and evil. Someone espousing that position is an evil person.
In a democracy, in a community where we care about the well-being of our neighbors, the opinions of such a person should be completely disregarded.
Don't argue. Reframe it. These people are evil sociopaths who want to literally kill their neighbors for their own convenience. It's not wrong, so don't be afraid to say it out loud.
I think both are important arguments to make. Because, unfortunately, many business owners see the current reality as an accepted status quo and don't really care about whether or not it will improve safety. They see safety as a cost or tradeoff, but the thing is it's not either-or... it's both. Bike lanes improve foot traffic to businesses while ALSO making roads safer for everyone.
Great video.
Thank you!
There are many cyclists in Greenpoint that agree that they don’t attempt to bike down McGuinness nor do they have a desire to. They’ve expressed that sentiment, yet no one acknowledges their opinion. That’s like saying “I can’t bike on the highway, so let’s fight to remove the highway”. Just bike somewhere else, like it really isn’t rocket science. As for safety, improvements can be made that far exceed the improvements suggested by the DOT, but no one from MMS has advocated for those measures. There should be conversation happening between both opposing advocacy groups to reach solutions that benefit the whole community not just those who are making this a personal agenda. If it’s solely about safety, then why push for a bike lane? That’s not addressing the concern.
Hey, thanks again for the different perspective. Here are some thoughts.
1) I'm sure there are people that have no interested in biking on McGuinness Blvd. With a city of 8 million people you will find every permutation of an idea. The thing is that we have to work with the data that we have. Based on the support that this MMS campaign has received from both pedestrians and bikers, there seems to be a considerable number of people that are in favor of road slimming, and if they can get a bike lane in that process, then why not?
2) In regards to alternative safety improvements, sure! If you have some links or reference material to alternatives I would love to learn more :)
3) It is about safety, which is why the main focus is road slimming and dieting. The problem is that this road was built during a different era, when Greenpoint had a more sparse population and industry had a larger presence. It was also built during a time when we had less care about the impact on local communities of building arterial blvds that connected highways. Neither of these are the case anymore. Greenpoint itself has changed to accommodate a larger population and the area around it will only continue to grow, while the industry will shrink as we have seen on the waterfront. This road will only grow more hazardous if we expect that more people will cross it and drive on it.
However, slimming this street and filling it with more pedestrian pavement seems like overkill. If you can add a bike lanes that will also reduce the number of people that need to drive on this street, then why not? Bike lanes also, historically, result in fewer injuries and deaths. This further pushes for the safety argument. As I've shown in the sources document in the video description, adding bike lanes has historically decreased injuries and congestion on a street in several case studies (source [24])
You're not understanding the nature of McGuinness. It was literally created to be a conduit between the BQE and other parts of Queens / Brooklyn and Pulaski /Long Island City, and serves local traffic very well. The businesses along and off it aren't mostly shops and cafes that benefit from foot traffic -- they're scrap metal processors, car washes, art studios, a major supermarket (one of the few with a parking lot), other industrial businesses, and yes film and TV stages, employing hundreds of neighbors and other New Yorkers. The boulevard's stoplights, and recent improvements to pedestrian islands work well. I and many Greenpointers have crossed that street for years and have no issues. Bike lanes? Yes! But not on McGuinness. There are other, better candidates for bike lanes. I also use quiet sides streets, which will be less quiet when cars divert to them if this awful plan comes to fruition. (Google maps may not select McGuinness, but locals know to use side streets -- never mind online maps.)
Thank you for the alternative perspective and expressing your concerns with civility. I certainly considered some of the points you expressed.
1) Just because a street was once designed for something doesn't mean it cannot be redesigned for something else. Cities are dynamic and trying to stay stagnant will likely hurt the businesses more than this plan. When McGuinness was designed, Brooklyn was also much more industry focused and considerably less populace. This is no longer the case. The neighborhood now has a considerable number of apartments and high rise apartments are going up to the west of it. A car oriented solution will only make the congestions and fatalities on this road worse.
2) While you are correct there is a lot of industry along McGuinness, this actually only makes up about a third of the bordering zoning. See attached map in sources [21]. I also have nothing against these industries expressing disagreement. But that wasn't the gripe I tried to convey. The gripe I tried to convey was that these larger industries groups, were trying to shape the narrative as though small mom and pop shops will be hurt. This is simply dishonest. The petition stated that these businesses would hurt. Looking at these shops (Appendix A in sources) and just from personal experience walking around this neighborhood, there is very little reason restaurants, cafes, bakeries, etc. Should have "Keep McGuinness Moving" posters hanging. These businesses and their customers would only benefit from this plan.
3) As for heavy industry being impacted, I am not convinced this has to be the case with this new plan. As the case studies demonstrated [24], in every instance where bike lanes were added, we saw a decrease in overall traffic. This would suggest to me that industry vehicles would actually benefit from this plan as their commute times will be shorter. They won't have to deal with as much traffic from private vehicles.
Edit: realize it might not be clear, I have a list of sources in the video description that I am referencing.
This concern over local industry seems entirely unfounded and counter to the empirical data from similar transformations. Time and time again, studies have shown that cutting down on car lanes has an overall net-decrease in traffic along the road. Less traffic means trucks will be able to pass through more easily, and protected bike lanes means truck drivers no longer have to worry about cyclists darting in between cars. At the same time, consider the potential benefits that would directly impact those businesses along the corridor. Not only would they expect higher foot traffic due to increased cycling activity, employees would now have a safe alternative to get to work. That ultimately means those parking spaces can be repurposed to be more productive for said businesses.