Clowns are in stitches over safer-style bike lane
The Villager
By Jefferson Siegel
On Nov. 3, the Time’s Up! Bicycle Clown Brigade celebrated New York City’s first Copenhagen-style bike lane, on Ninth Ave. between 16th and 23rd Sts., with a Bike Lane Liberation Ride.
In the new, seven-block bike lane, cyclists are physically separated from motor vehicle traffic by a lane of parked cars.
“We applaud the new Department of Transportation commissioner’s commitment to improved bicycle infrastructure. Now it is up to the N.Y.P.D. to enforce the law and keep the bike lanes clear of motor vehicles,” said Judy Ross, a Time’s Up! spokesperson.
The cyclists toasted the lane with apple cider in champagne glasses while eating homemade vegan peanut-butter cupcakes with soy chocolate icing. They held a sign reading, “We the Bike Clowns proclaim the Ninth Avenue lane car-free! Long may it grow and flourish a whole bunch more.”
Don't tell Rhoda Newman to send in the clowns - they're already here in her home in North Babylon. Newman has loved clowns since she was a child when her parents took her to the circus for the first time. Now, she has a serious clown collection - about 100 in all from pewter figurines to knitted and handmade clowns. The star of her collection is the ceramic statuette of Emmett Kelly, who performed as Weary Willie, a clown based on the hobos of the Depression era. Newman's son gave her the figurine as a birthday gift about 20 years ago. Newman, a retired school secretary who will turn 80 Nov. 12, wasn't clowning around when she told Newsday staff writer Daniel Bubbeo about her collection... 
