2006-12-10 Friends Remember Cyclist – WNBC

WNBC | December 10, 2006

http://www.wnbc.com/news/10504027/detail.html

Ghost Bike Commemorates Spot Along Hudson River In Greenwich Village

NEW YORK — More than 100 cyclists participated in a memorial ride Saturday for cyclist Eric Ng, 22, that ended at the spot where he was killed, NewsChannel 4’s Monica Morales reported.

There was also a celebration Saturday night–a party in honor of Ing at 8 p.m. on Houston Street. Family members told Morales that’s what he would have wanted.
Ng was run down by a car last Friday while riding on a popular bike path near the intersection of West Street and Clarkson Street in Greenwich Village.
Police said Eugenio Cidron drove his BMW down the path for almost a mile. He even ran over a plastic pylon barrier to traffic before striking Ng, they said.

On Saturday, friends and family comforted each other and remembered the bright, well-liked NYU graduate. They told Morales that changes in safety are needed along the path, and they need to be done now before someone else gets hurt.

Flowers decorated a ghost bike painted all white in memoriam—like the others on New York streets marking collisions with cars and trucks.
A picture of Ng lifting his bike to the sky rested against the handlebars. His friends said the picture showed his spirit; they said he loved life and lived it to the fullest, Morales reported.

“He was just a beautiful soul and spirit, and everyone he touched, they know how great the loss of Eric is,” said one friend.
Now state transportation officials are considering installing concrete posts to help keep traffic off the path and prevent injuries. Those who knew Ing said they are glad.

He is one of two cyclists killed this year along this stretch of the Hudson River.

“If you ride or walk in the bike lane any day of the week, you see cars, taxis. You’ll see cars and police stopped in bike lanes. What’s the point of having a bike lane,” said one cyclist.

“I ride here everyday on bike. I already pass one ghost bike, and now I will be passing two and it could be me,” the cyclist said.

A memorial has also been set up inside St. Mark’s Church on 11th Street and 2nd Avenue. It was filled with Ng’s friends and family on Saturday, according to Morales.

“He was a teddy bear with muscles; he really cared,” said one family member.

Officials at the state transportation department are discussing replacing plastic pylons with steel ones.

The Hudson River Park Trust, which maintains this bike path, has created a taskforce to discuss the problem, Morales said.

© 2006 by WNBC.com. All rights reserved.