On Bicycles: A 200-Year History of Cycling in New York City

Friss (The Cycling City), a professor at James Madison University, traces the evolution and controversial past of bicycles in New York City in this informative history. Bicycles have been a point of contention in New York, Friss writes, since their first appearance in 1819 as velocipedes, clunky precursors to the more familiar design that were quickly derided as “whimsical inventions” and banned. Friss explores issues of race, class, and gender as cycling evolved, highlighting the discouragement of women from riding in the 19th century (the public disliked “the idea of a woman in a dress mounting a soaring bike five feet off the ground”) as well as the effect the 1987 Midtown Bike Ban under Mayor Koch had on messengers of color (the ban was to prevent messengers from recklessly peddling in Midtown; its critics argued that the ban kept blacks and Latinos out of the area). Friss takes the narrative to the present day, showing how the recent Citi Bike bike share program has fueled gentrification (Friss quotes writer Jeremiah Moss, who called bike lanes “green veins that stream gentrifiers into low-income neighborhoods”). This is a thoughtful, entertaining look at an essential form of transportation in New York City. (May)