The teenaged boy was the victim of what local news sources called a "social-media challenge" or "TikTok stunt" gone awry. He'd been with a group of friends who were filming the exploit, and who fled the scene without calling for help for fear of getting arrested - though, naturally, they also immediately posted video of the accident to social media.
"Solid ice." "Outrageous." "Not fair." These are some of the comments bike riders posted on Tuesday night and earlier today about conditions on the Queensboro Bridge bike lane more than two days after a fairly insignificant snowfall ended on Sunday night. Photographic evidence suggests that the Department of Transportation did not fully clear the way for riders - many of whom are delivery workers - on the second-busiest East River bridge (and the only one to link Queens directly to Manhattan Island).
The markings on the former shared path are still the same, however, confusing people into taking the wrong side. And some of the entrances have few or no signs to make clear who should and who shouldn't use them. It's the latest wrinkle after decades of waiting to get a safe crossing for anyone not driving over the 116-year-old bridge - which includes more than 8,500 daily cyclists - after the Adams administration delayed the de Blasio-era project for years.