Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Jennifer Chait (212) 788-8479
Also joining the Mayor at today's kick off were Richard Malchow, Acting DOT Commissioner; Marie Salerno, Executive Director of NYC 100th Centennial; Pam Tice, Executive Director, Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels; Dr. Jane Katz, World Masters Swimming Champion and CUNY Professor; and Ziggy, the cartoon character and mascot for Bike Month.
"It's great to be here this morning to kick off the City's Twenty-First Annual Five-Boro Bike Tour," Mayor Giuliani said. "This year, as we celebrate New York's Centennial -- the coming together of the five boroughs into one united City -- it's fitting that the nation's largest cycling event once again unites the City in a day of fun and exercise. As you travel through the five boroughs, you'll enjoy beautiful parks, historic landmarks, hidden neighborhoods, the majestic Manhattan skyline, and magnificent waterways -- the perfect landscape for a day of cycling. As I declare today Bike New York Day, I wish you a very safe and enjoyable tour."
Acting DOT Commissioner Richard Malchow said, "The Department of Transportation is proud to sponsor this event which allows New Yorkers to see our City from a different perspective -- on a bike."
Today's tour, organized by the New York City Department of Transportation and Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels, began at Church and Franklin Streets in Lower Manhattan and proceeded to Central Park, through Harlem, and into The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. The cyclists crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island. The Tour culminated with a post-tour festival at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island where cyclists enjoyed a festival of music, food, and exhibitions.
Sponsors included Con Edison, WCBS-FM, PowerBar, Naya Water, Saturn Cars, and New York 1 News.
The month of May is "Bike Month in New York."