Some deaths more equal than others By Michael Smith and Charles Komanoff (originally appeared on the New York cyclists' mailing list, "ebikes") Truth really is stranger than fiction. Here's an example. First, a bit of scene-setting: SIDEWALK BICYCLIST KILLS SIDEWALK BICYCLIST KILLED On Tuesday, Nov. 18, 68-year- On Tuesday, Dec. 2, 68-year-old old Arthur Kaye, a businessman James Costello, a retired NYC from Englewood, NJ, died when police detective and resident of he fell after being struck by a Hicksville, LI, was riding his bicycle ridden on the sidewalk bicycle on the sidewalk in by a 24-year-old immigrant man neighboring East Meadow when a who was delivering dinner from car jumped the curb and struck a take-out chicken joint on the him. Costello was killed Upper West Side of Manhattan. instantly. The driver, a 28-year- The cyclist was not charged at old woman who also lived in the time but was reportedly Hicksville, was not charged; the being sought by police after story received little attention considerable media attention and the driver is not being to the story. sought by the police. Thus far, both stories are true. But it's in what happens subsequently that the truth gets strange. The first story was big news and stayed big for days on radio and TV, in the tabs and The Times (in the latter alone: four articles, a column and an editorial "Assault by Bicycle"). It generated enough words to fill a small book and led Mayor Giuliani to announce a crackdown on all bicyclist traffic-law violators. The second story rated a grand total of five matter-of-fact sentences in one paper -- Newsday. On the left is a Nov. 20 column by Andrea Peyser of the NY Post, printed verbatim. On the right is how the same column might appear in some parallel universe, where Peyser or the Post had a grain of sense or a shred of decency, or where people were capable of recognizing what's really killing them. COPS MUST SWEEP SPROCKET COPS MUST SWEEP MOTOR ROCKETS OFF OUR SIDEWALKS MURDERERS OFF OUR STREETS By Andrea Peyser By Andrea Peyser THERE is nothing to mark THERE is nothing to mark this tiny splotch of this tiny splotch of sidewalk on West 77th sidewalk in East Meadow, Street. No marker. No sign. Long Island. No marker. No Not so much as an errant sign. Not so much as an scrap of police tape. errant scrap of police tape. But it was here, a quick sprint from the imposing But it was here, in safe, Museum of Natural History - middle-class semi-suburbia a ball toss from the - after a working life falling leaves of Central spent on the streets of New Park - that a man was York City - that a retired killed by an assassin on New York cop was killed by two wheels. an assassin on four wheels. And all the residents of And all the residents of this city suffered a this region suffered a collective body blow collective body blow against our improving sense against our improving sense of safety. of safety. The bicycle menace must be The car menace must be stopped. By any means stopped. By any means necessary. necessary. On Tuesday night, after a On Tuesday afternoon, after quiet dinner out, Arthur a quiet lunch, James Kaye of New Jersey stepped Costello rode quietly down onto the pavement at 77th the sidewalk along Street. He never saw what Newbridge Road. He never was coming. saw what was coming. In a split second, Kaye, at In a split second, age 68, wandered into the Costello, 68, rolled into spot where a daily assault one of the spots where a on the city's quality-of- daily assault on the life turned instantaneously region's quality-of-life into a deadly crime against turns almost daily into humanity. deadly crimes against humanity. At that moment, police say, Eduardo Delossantos, 24, a At that moment, police say, deliveryman for Chirping Kathleen Nolen, 28, Chicken, aimed his bicycle occupation and errand not toward the exact point of described, aimed her car sidewalk where Kaye was toward the exact point of stepping. sidewalk where Costello was riding. And in the process, Delossantos became the And in the process, Nolen human equivalent of a stray became the human equivalent bullet - allegedly hitting of a stray artillery shell Kaye with such unexpected - smashing into Costello fury, the man's head with such unexpected fury, smashed into the pavement. that the man was crushed Then struck it again. flat and killed instantly. Arthur Kaye, successful James Costello, public manufacturer, chemical servant, good citizen, engineer and family man, retiree, family man and died an hour later at St. cyclist, was pronounced Luke's Hospital. dead at the scene. Delossantos received a Nolen received no ticket, ticket from police for for anything, from the biking without police. And she drove off identification. And rode into the monoxide-brown off into the night. afternoon. This is where this tragic This is where this tragic tale becomes a regular tale becomes a regular horror show. horror show. Had Delossantos fired a Had Nolen fired a rifle rifle along the sidewalk, along the sidewalk, chances chances are he would be in are she would be in custody. Had he veered a custody. Had she veered a car onto the pavement, bicycle onto the pavement, they'd pick him up. they'd confiscate her bike. Instead, in what one source Instead, in what police admitted was probably "a sources acknowledge is screwup," the cop who policy, Costello's death is arrived at the scene of shrugged off as an Tuesday night's accident accident. Nolen wasn't allowed Delossantos to charged with a crime, or leave with a summons. For even ticketed -- and won't failing to carry proper ID. be, police say. Next morning - big Next morning -- big surprise! - Delossantos surprise! -- Nolen didn't failed to show up for work fail to show up as usual at at Chirping Chicken. her job. Now the NYPD is looking for The police, after all, him - and "also looking aren't looking for her - into the possibility of and certainly not "looking charging him criminally," into the possibility of said Lenny Alcivar, charging her criminally," director of press as all police sources operations. flatly state. In the meantime, In the meantime, Nolen's Delossantos' brothers in brothers and sisters in lawlessness are back on the mayhem are out on the sidewalk in force. streets as usual. Barely 12 hours after this Barely a minute after this outrage was committed outrage was committed against Mr. Kaye and his against Mr. Costello and loved ones, bikers could be his loved ones, drivers seen mindlessly zapping were mindlessly zapping along the Upper West Side along Newbridge Road in on their bullets with their bombs on wheels. spokes. Some rode within Within hours, thousands inches of the spot where drove unheedingly past the Arthur Kaye died. spot where Costello died. Across the street from Down the block from where Scaletta's restaurant, Costello was killed, where Kaye was killed, schoolkids were trying to schoolkids lined up, make it through the double-file, to enter the crosswalk. Just then, a museum. Just then, a man driver whipped around the whirred by on the sidewalk, corner, mere inches from mere feet from the the children, scattering children. them. "Get off the sidewalk," I "Yield to pedestrians," I tried to tell him. But he tried to tell him. But he couldn't hear me. The music couldn't hear me. The music in his headphones was way on his car stereo was way too loud. too loud. Things were worse on nearby Things were worse on nearby Columbus Avenue. As one Seventh Street. As one deliveryman pedaled yuppie in a Range Rover perilously in their hurtled in their direction direction, I saw a young while jabbering on his cell woman and her mother, phone, I saw a young woman pushing a baby carriage, and her mother, pushing a scamper out of the demon's baby carriage, scamper out path. of the demon's path. "It's OK, no harm," the "It's OK, no harm," the younger woman said in a younger woman said in a thick German accent. thick German accent. Others, though, were Others, though, were incensed. incensed. "Sometimes I think the "Christ, it wouldn't help pedestrian needs to wear even if pedestrians wore all that gear the all that gear the Rollerbladers use," Norman Rollerbladers use," Howard "The Doorman" Robberstad "The Valet" Ribblefarb told me ruefully. told me ruefully. When did walking on a When did cycling on a sidewalk - amid some of the sidewalk - amid some of the priciest real-estate in the priciest real-estate in the nation - become such an nation - become such a obstacle course? slaughterhouse? And when will it end? And when will it end? The last two Sundays, I've The last two Sundays, I've written about the explosion written about the explosion of this city's outlaw of this region's outlaw cyclists, and the NYPD's drivers, and the NYPD's efforts to curb them. complete lack of concern. The police department Here's my dream: The police recently assigned 10 cops department assigns 10 cops to a special bike-riding to a special bike-riding force, mandated to catch up force, mandated to catch up with the legions of bikers with the legions of drivers who run red lights and who terrorize pedestrians otherwise terrorize out of crosswalks and pedestrians. cyclists off the road. Things seemed to be looking Things will be looking up up when, last week, I when -- someday -- I see observed 12 cops pulling cops pulling over dozens of over dozens of law-breakers lawbreakers along Sixth along Sixth Avenue in Avenue in Midtown - handing Midtown - handing out out summonses of up to $125 summonses of up to $125 to to creeps in two-ton creeps in Spandex. assault vehicles. But apparently, news of the But the car war must start bike war hasn't trickled with the pols and then down to everyone. trickle down to the cops. City Councilman Andrew Maybe City Councilman Eristoff, who helped push Andrew Eristoff, who pushed through the law making a sidewalk biking law, will sidewalk biking illegal - embrace the idea of curbing the law so many bikers the truly dangerous flout on a daily basis - lawbreakers, who kill 250 has an idea. peds a year in NYC. "I'm going to seek And "seek legislation to legislation to make make business owners liable business owners liable for for the actions of its the actions of its employees," as he boasts of employees," Eristoff told doing against sidewalk me. cyclists. So if a Chirping Chicken So if a Lehman Brothers deliveryman on a bike mows bond trader in a Jag mows down a pedestrian, Chirping down a pedestrian, Lehman Chicken would have to pay. Brothers would have to pay. It might be an effective It might be an effective weapon in the war being weapon in the war on waged on pedestrians. pedestrians and cyclists. How many more have to lose How many more have to lose their lives, their limbs, their lives, their limbs, or their sanity before or their sanity before these guys are stopped? these guys are stopped? Wouldn't it be a howl if some gifted hacker should turn his skills to good use and put the right-hand column on the Post's site? But of course that would be very, very wrong. -- Michael Smith, ms@gf.org Charlie Komanoff, kea@igc.org P.S. -- Just as we were posting this, we saw the following in today's (Fri. Dec. 12) NY Times (Metro, B6, printed verbatim). We wish we were kidding. We're not. >FATHER, ON SLEDDING TRIP, IS KILLED BY VEHICLE >Norwalk -- When the first significant snow of the season >fell on Wednesday, Felipe Restrepo went to take his 3-year- >old sledding. They never made it. Mr. Restrepo, 40, was >killed after having pushed his son Louis out of the path >of a careering vehicle. > "Tears came to my eyes when I heard the dad saved his son, >and then the daddy died," said Virginia Arena, who lives one >house down the hill from the Restrepos. > Louis received minor injuries, apparently from being >pushed by his father, said Sgt. John Cashin. > Police officials said a Pathfinder struck Mr. Restrepo >after the driver lost control as she tried to negotiate a >sharp curve on a hill on Aiken Street. As it headed down the >hill, the vehicle mounted the sidewalk and hit Mr. Restrepo, >who was on the sidewalk with his son, the police said. > The accident occurred at 5:40 P.M., after an inch or more >of snow had fallen. Sergeant Cashin said that the hill, along >with the slick road, made driving treacherous and that the >police were investigating whether speed played a role in the >accident [the article actually says that! -- C.K., M.S.] > The driver, a 31-year-old from Norwalk who was not >identified, was not injured, and no charges were filed >against her. Andrea Peyser, presumably, will not be cranking up her hysterical rhetoric mill on Mr. Restrepo's behalf. Nor will the good gray Times shake its reverend head in decent sorrow and express its concern. Politicians will not be emitting clouds of invective about diabolical suburban women in SUVs. Mr. Restrepo's killer, as usual, will be back at the helm of her kick-ass "empowering" vehicle as soon as the dents have been hammered out. Perhaps in the parallel universe where Andrea Peyser is sane and decent, where politicans care about people being killed, and where people are able to see clearly what is happening to them -- in that other world, of which ours is a grim, shabby, and sourly comical Bizarro -- Felipe Restrepo and his son have made it to the hill, and spent an afternoon that they will both recall, with quiet joy, for the rest of their untruncated threescore and ten. -- Mike and Charlie