They’re braking cycles!
Hundreds of needy Big Apple kids got free bikes at an event hosted by city Corrections officers and the NYPD on Friday — as parents from hardscrabble areas gushed that the giveaway helped youngsters feel less fearful of figures in uniform.
Roughly 400 kids and teens got brand-new bicycles, donated by Department of Corrections workers, at the event dubbed “Christmas in July” at JHS 231 in Springfield Gardens, Queens.
NYPD workers provided the venue — the department’s summer youth police academy — and helped teach bike safety.
“It keeps the positivity going in the neighborhood, you know, it’s a good thing to see NYPD, Corrections [doing this],” said Michelle Pemberton, a 55-year-old DMV worker, whose grandsons got bikes at the event.
“Children grow up and usually look at these kind of figures and think of fear, and [authorities are] opening the door up to brightness for them and showing them that there’s positive, like models from these agencies,” she said.
“It’s a good thing.”
Keyarah Robinson, 17, scored a turquoise mountain bike at the giveaway.
“I like it, I like it for my age,” she told The Post.
“It’s very good for my height. I don’t have to sit here and feel uncomfortable on my bike.”
Tazion Authers, 7, landed a blue bike.
“I like this bike because it has blue stuff,” the boy said.
The children’s mom, Patrice Tucker, 41, a daycare worker who was at the event with her four kids, all of whom got bikes, said, “It’s really nice.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
Detective Tanya Duhaney of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau said many of the children at the event live at nearby shelters.
“It is important to let our kids know that we do care about them. It’s summertime, and we want to just engage them and also teach them to give back,” she said.
“We’re here to do our jobs and at that is to protect and serve. And this is the service part of us giving back and showing these kids that we’re not robots. We’re human just like them.”
Christmas in July, which began in 2018, raked in a total of roughly 700 bikes for kids, the rest of which will be given away at a later date, Duhaney said.
The bikes were bought as part of a competition between the city’s jails, organizers said.
“It is extremely special for us because one of our most fundamental values is an agency is care, and it’s care not only for our staff and people in custody but also for the communities that we serve,” said DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie.
“Each facility, they challenged each other and made it a real competition, and they were really excited to be able to do that so we could give back to the community,” the commish said.
“One of the things I would just want to point out is, children in our communities, regardless of social status, they should have access to bikes and books and resources that are critical to make sure that they thrive. And as a mom, that’s really important. I’m really proud of my bonus family.”
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