Patch: City Council Candidate Bikes Every Block Of Brooklyn District
by Anna Quinn
Justin Krebs, who is running in Park Slope's 39th District, is finishing up the four-week-long ride this week.PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A city council candidate is finishing up a 120-mile journey biking every block of the district he aims to represent.
Justin Krebs, who is running for District 39, has less than 10 miles left in his quest to bike the entire district, which extends over Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, the Columbia Waterfront District, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park and Kensington, according to his campaign. He expects to finish the ride early this week.
The journey has brought new perspective to Krebs' view of problems in the district he hopes to address should he be elected, he said.
““...I’ve seen where bike lanes end abruptly, where residential streets are treated like highways for cars, and where roadways have sliced neighborhoods in half. I’ve met small business owners that feel like the city is letting them down, only giving them unclear instructions about the future of open streets. And I’ve met fellow bikers and pedestrians that just don’t feel safe at busy intersections like Church and East 7th and 9th St. and Hamilton, period.””
Krebs is one of nearly a dozen candidates that have filed to replace term-limited Council Member Brad Lander in the 39th District. Lander is vying to become the city's next comptroller.
Other candidates include Lander's director of organizing and community engagement, a Community Board 6 member and local activist. In terms of funding, Krebs stands in fourth place among the District 39 candidates, according to the most recent Campaign Finance Board records.
Krebs, whose background includes running the national campaigns team at nonprofit MoveOn, says he was inspired to bike and walk every block of the district to get a "perspective you can only see behind handlebars."
Krebs himself bikes his three daughters to preschools in Carroll Gardens and Sunset Park from his home in Park Slope and his father is an avid cyclist, even at 76 years old, according to Krebs.
Among his campaign proposals are smarter crash investigations, transferring traffic enforcement to the Department of Transportation, and pushing the next Mayor to adopt an ambitious bike master plan.