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David Byrne Bike Racks Go From Sketch to Reality
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 20, 2008
Modified Aug 20, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 20, 2008
Modified Aug 20, 2008
Share
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Is there anything this city won't do for renaissance man David Byrne? The former Talking Head has been helping out with the DOT's search for new bike rack designs, and recently got inspired to sketch some imaginary bike racks named for New York neighborhoods and locations. Then, voila; David's dream is manifest, as he explains on his blog: "To my surprise, [the DOT] responded by saying, 'If you make these we'll put them up.' Holy Moses! I was over the moon — what happened to the legendary red tape and years of bureaucratic haggling I was supposed to go through?"
Byrne, an avid cyclist who's admitted to eating pavement while biking under the influence, says the locations the DOT chose were perfect: "Wall Street for the dollar sign! And Bergdorf Goodman for the giant high heel!" The whimsical yet functional racks, which were fabricated with money from PaceWildenstein Gallery, will be up eleven months, after which the gallery will sell them off. The Times ran a long profile on Byrne the biker recently, and here are the finalists for the city's design competition for the next generation of permanent bike racks.
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bike rack
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david byrne
design
dot
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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