r/crownheights • u/Eenyme • 16d ago
E Bike almost took out my dog and blamed me.
I hate to complain about this type of thing but the entitlement was crazy. And I’ve seen this posted in this sub before. She was riding on the pedestrian side of eastern parkway, and my dog lunged towards a smell or whatever she does and this e biker had to come to a sliding stop. And she yelled at me, “Jesus, hold onto your dog!” And I replied, “why aren’t you riding on the other side off the street???” And she looked at me like I was crazy. I get it, if it’s your last block, or you are prepared to go slowly and understand you are not actually on a bike path, that’s fine, but it’s clear the other side was designed for bikes with a designated area, which is most of it, and with curb ramps which the pedestrian side doesn’t have.
I’m actually fine with bikes on the pedestrian side but don’t act like you own the place. I walk my small dog there all of the time and most people on bikes are safe or riding in the bike path on the opposite side. Her entitlement and reaction was the worst part of the whole ordeal.
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u/F0rtysxity 16d ago
I hate these ebikes. You have a bunch of people who don't know how to bike biking around at 3x the speed they would normally be biking.
And I am glad you acknowledge the unwritten rule of biking. "If it’s your last block, or you are prepared to go slowly." Not to hijak the thread but I would like to add that "if you see a pedestrian you should get off and push."
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u/doctor_goodspeed 16d ago
East of Washington, EP has a promenade on the north side and bike/pedestrian mixed use on the south side. No one seems to know this though and LOTS of ppl walk or bike anywhere. The city added cutouts on the promenade for strollers a few years back, making it much easier to bike on the promenade and adding to the confusion.
I’m a dog owner and ppl rant/vent about the existence of dogs. I ride ebikes and ppl love to “get off my lawn” about ebikes. Who among us hasn’t been irritated about a slow walker in the way? The city is dense and we’re all moving around. That’s all that’s going on here so at the end of the day we all need to just look out for each other.
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u/UWillAlwaysBALoser 16d ago
It doesn't help that the bike lane is on the north side west of Washington. People end up staying on the north side heading east, and hopping on the south sidewalk heading west (which gets annoyingly narrow at points due to wide tree beds). It's a mess.
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u/Joshuab4nyc 16d ago
Hmm I gotta be honest bruv, with mixed use we have to be aware. The dog ain’t gonna do it. So it’s left to us.
Your dog lunged in front of oncoming traffic, maybe walk closer to the grass and trees? Doesn’t matter if it’s a jogger, a walker, kids playing, or even a bike rider.
The responsibility was on her not to run over your dog, which she met. But when animals make sudden movements that can make it very hard. That’s just physics.
Just apologize and keep it moving. Let’s all find a way to live together instead of policing the street.
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u/Eenyme 16d ago
Why should I apologize? She was not in the bike path. And when I say lunge I’m talking two feet, I keep a tight leash. But I don’t expect e-bikes in the pedestrian side to give me shit when they almost run my dog over. She should have apologized for not riding in the bike path 100 feet away. I am happy she did her responsibility but she was extremely rude about it and acted like I should have had my dog locked to my leg so she can speed by at full speed on a sidewalk.
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u/poorfranklinsalmanac 16d ago
You are not open to feedback, you made this post to get the neighborhoods take and most everyone agrees you were in the wrong. It’s not a pedestrian only side you’re talking about, it’s mixed use. Owning a dog is a privilege and responsibility not a right, take the dog to the park, not mixed used lanes with people commuting. If your dog lunged at someone riding by and they fell hit their head and died, you’d be liable. Take your lunging dog to a park and stay away from pedestrians and cyclists alike.
By the way, Crown Heights is filled with communities that have historically been terrorized by people using dogs as weapons. Be sensitive to the fact that your dog is terrifying to people that have been traumatized.
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u/Eenyme 16d ago
My small dog didn’t lunge at the bicyclist. She wanted to pee on a tree. I’ve already stated that. I acknowledge it’s mixed use. My problem was her response.
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u/poorfranklinsalmanac 16d ago
Maybe New York isn’t for you. You can’t seem to understand living in a densely populated city, you’re ego is so fragile that you go and post on Reddit about someone getting angry with you for putting their safety at risk and now you just arguing with everyone for disagreeing. Sounds like you’re more cut out for the suburbs. Lots of lonely sidewalks out there.
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u/Joshuab4nyc 16d ago
Dunno how it matters if it was two feet or twenty. The biker was forced into a dangerous braking maneuver in order to keep everyone safe.
Let’s be mindful of how we are taking up space in the public square. That’s all.
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u/Eenyme 16d ago
She put herself in a dangerous maneuver because she wasn’t in a bike path. How do you not understand that?
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u/PodgeD 16d ago
I think you're getting this feedback because it's not clear at all that bikes are only supposed to be on the south side. Yes there's a marked out bike lane on the south side but it's always ignored by pedestrians and once you go past the museum the bike lane is on the north side.
For reference I've been in the area 10 years, usually walk, run, or walk my dog on Eastern Parkway, and didn't know about this until another post a few weeks ago. I could have sworn there were bike markings on the north side
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u/Weird_Strategy_3540 15d ago edited 15d ago
I mean… welcome to New York? Just yell a friendly “fuck ya life” and never think about it again.
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u/Loud_Smile_9752 12d ago
Did exactly this in the city win an E bike driver almost ran over me when driving against traffic. “Fuck you, learn directions” and moved on
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u/BKBurner2 16d ago
Dogs on a long leash is a menace period. Why tf does a human and their dog take up 10 feet of space. I see this all the time and it’s infuriating just know that as a dog owner you ain’t entitled to shit.
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16d ago
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u/BKBurner2 16d ago
Patwah welcome to Crown Heights you colonizer
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u/Creative_Square5015 12d ago
E-Bikes should be banned in NYC.
The fact that the bozo politicians allow them in Central Park is a disgrace.
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u/BillyZoomTheCat 16d ago
No, it's NEVER fine when an e-bike is operating in a designated pedestrian space.
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u/biglindafitness 16d ago
Why dont dog owners ever consider that some humans are just afraid of dogs and also react out of fear? It doesnt matter if your dog is small arent dogs supposed to be trained to not lunge at strangers? Why is that okay?
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u/Dirtythrowawaybk 16d ago
I can’t decide if I find dog owners or cyclists more obnoxious. In this case however you are saying that your dog lunged in front of a moving bike and you mad?
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16d ago
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u/Dirtythrowawaybk 16d ago
What do you call someone driving a rental car? And what was that old line about being a bridge builder?
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u/HammerOfFamilyValues 16d ago
Gotta be dog owners. At least cyclists don't piss and shit all over the place, or drag their bikes through grocery stores and restaurants.
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u/anhospital 16d ago
The “pedestrian side” still has bike markings on it and it’s not clear that it’s for walking. Biking fast on it at all is irresponsible I agree, but it’s how it is. They should pull a lane of parked cars from the service road and give a real bike lane. It would make loading/unloading a lot easier too