By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — It was all about borscht and bikes on Second Avenue Thursday as famed restaurant Veselka partnered with the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives to encourage safe cycling on city streets.
The decades-old eatery at the corner of East 9th Street acted as a pit stop for riders on the Second Avenue bike lane, offering free chilled borscht and pierogies to passersby, while also spreading the gospel of pedal power.
"New York has never been a very cycling-friendly environment," said Veselka owner Tom Birchard, an avid biker and Transportation Alternatives member.
"We do a lot of deliveries by bicycle, and this has been a huge help to my guys cycling quickly and safely," he noted of the new bike lanes on First and Second avenues, which have received mixed reviews from area merchants. "I saw this as nothing but a positive. We have a lot of customers who come by bike."
As visitors munched on Ukrainian goodies outside the 57-year-old eatery, TA's "Bike Ambassadors" pinned signs to bikers' backpacks with slogans like "I Share the Road" and "I Bike Polite."
"Transportation Alternatives is uniquely positioned to help everyone adapt to the changing streetscape," said group spokesman Michael Murphy, adding that the goal is to teach riders about safe cycling practices, as the community learns to "acclimate to our changing streets."
"The bike lanes keep everyone out of each others' way and out of harm's way."