2008-12-03 - Scene: Nov. 2 The Day of the Dead - The Villager

Scene: Nov. 2 The Day of the Dead
The Villager
December 3, 2008
By Jefferson Siegel

On Nov. 2, the Day of the Dead — the traditional Mexican day of observance of deceased ancestors, family and friends — members of the cycling-advocacy group Time’s Up! highlighted the dangers faced by pedestrians and bike riders. Above, college professor Ben Shepard played dead in the Allen St. bike lane, which was blocked by a taxi, as Barbara Ross and Laurie Mittelmann bent over him in prayer. They also made stops on the Lower East Side where two cyclists, Brandie Bailey and Rasha Shamoon, had been killed by a garbage truck and S.U.V., respectively. At a community garden, they marked the two-year anniversary of the death of Brad Will, the East Village squatter-turned-journalist, who was slain by police in Oaxaca, Mexico.