By: Maggie Freleng, NYC, USA, SSH Correspondent
Walking home alone late at night can be scary, no matter where you live. For some people, a safe cab ride home is not an option, and with lack of a better options and resources they may be forced into uncomfortable, unsafe situations.
Fortunately there is Brooklyn Bike Patrol (BBP), dedicated to “keeping Brooklyn safe” during what could be an unsafe, threatening walk home.
BBP is a volunteer group escorting women to their homes late at night from anywhere; a bar, friend’s home, restaurant, bus stop or subway.
Louisa Laz-Hirsch, 21, said she is grateful for BBP, particularly when she first moved to Brooklyn.
“I was a penny counting bartender so, unfortunately I couldn’t afford to take cabs every time I got off work at 2:00 in the morning,” she said. “My apartment wasn’t an incredibly long walk from the myrtle-broadway stop, but even within those 8 or so blocks I felt uneasy being a young woman alone late at night.”
BBP operates seven days a week, Sunday-Thursday 8 p.m. – 12 a.m. and Friday-Saturday 10 p.m. – 4 a.m. All you have to do is call 718-744-7592, give a heads up, and an escort on a bike will be waiting to meet you.
Since forming in 2011 after a string of sexual attacks near Park Slope, BBP services 58 train stops in Brooklyn initially starting near Prospect Park and now extending through to Williamsburg.
All volunteers have been background checked by the 72nd Precinct so you know you are safe walking with them.
“It was such a relief to find out about BBP,” Laz-Hirsch said. “It’s so comforting knowing that there’s so many people who care enough about the safety of their neighbors to devote that much of their free-time to guaranteeing they feel comfortable in their own neighborhood.”
BBP has been endorsed by St. Francis Xavier Church and NYS Senator Eric Adams and the 72nd, 77th, 78th and 68th Precincts and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Brooklyn DA’s Office.
Laz-Hirsch said, speaking about getting home safe at night, “It’s messed up that that’s even a concern.” However, it is a concern, unfortunately, and Brooklyn is glad to have Brooklyn Bike Patrol when things get uneasy!
Maggie is a Brooklyn based freelance writer and photographer focusing on social justice and women’s issues. She currently writes for Vitamin W. Maggie graduated with a B.A in Journalism and English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2011, concentrating on dystopian literature. You can read more of her writing on her blog or follow her on Twitter, @dixiy89.
