Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff: Bike Commuter

Adrianne Pasquarelli profiles New Yorkers who commute by bicycle for Crain’s New York. You have to subscribe to read the entire article, but here she introduces Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, cyclist:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave bike commuting a boost with PlaNYC 2030, his administration’s blueprint for sustainability. It calls for 1,380 additional miles of bike lanes–more than three times the current number–by 2030 and 1,200 more on-street bike racks by 2009.

In fact, one of the city’s most high-profile cyclists, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, is in charge of implementing PlaNYC. In an effort to combine exercise with his commute, the 48-year-old has been biking to City Hall from the Upper West Side–in fair weather–for the past five years.

“It’s the most environmentally friendly way of commuting other than walking,” Mr. Doctoroff says. “It contributes to our efforts to reduce air pollution and global warming.” Other prominent New Yorkers who pedal to work include Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Village Voice columnist Michael Musto.

“People get it; they can feel good when they’re biking,” says Mr. Budnick, 29, who cycles 12 miles between Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and his Chelsea office.

Health concerns prompted Monica Gonzalez, 38. Three years ago, the preschool teacher weighed 220 pounds. She began riding to her workplace–making a seven-and-a-half mile trek over the Queensboro Bridge from Sunnyside, Queens, to the Upper West Side. Now 160 pounds, she says biking has also become her therapy.

Photo: jglsongs/Flickr