3rd Ave. right before 52nd St. intersection

Shame on Matt Long and his mom. He is the firefighter that was struck by a bus during the transit strike last year on his way to his firehouse on Randall's Island. He was recently let out of the hospital after 15 surgeries and months of rehabilitation. Mr. Long got a hero's welcome, a press conference, and a Triumphant headline, you would have thought he was a returning soldier or something. C'mon journos, there are two sides to every story. What a disgrace.

Instead of railing against the Transit Union and blaming his accident on the strike, Matt should be discussing just how dangerous the streets of NYC are when it comes to cycling, especially if like him, you're not used to riding on the city streets. Ironically, the streets were way more safe for cyclists during the strike with all the carpool restrictions and emergency lanes then riding during normal conditions. Plus with it being 5:38am when he got hit, the roads would have been extra deserted.

Close-up of ruts and scars near intersection 3rd Ave. and 52nd St.

Matt Long should be blaming himself for being a rookie at riding in the city. He admits that he usually takes his car to work so he was clearly not qualified to ride NYC's infamous streets. Not to mention, the intersection at 3rd Avenue and 52nd street actually has some rough patches, a few dangerous ruts, some very uneven scars and depressions, and most importantly, NO BIKE LANE. How was that not mentioned once? There are even conflicting reports as to whether or not Matt hit the bus or it hit him and yet he becomes a symbol of what went wrong during the strike?

Delivery guy on 3rd Ave. approaching 52nd St.

Could you imagine package jockeys (my new term of endearment for bike messengers) or food delivery guys getting hero's welcomes cause they got hit by a bus and were getting out of the hospital. That kind of shit happens to them everyday and they don't expect or receive special privileges, press conferences, or words of condolences from the Mayor of NYC and the Governor.

Close-up of more ruts and scars near intersection 3rd Ave. and 52nd St.

Matt should consider himself lucky, this year alone "some 3200 cyclists" were hit on the streets of NYC, and the strike had nothing to do with it. Stop blaming Roger. Matt, wheelchair or not, look in the mirror. You may be tuff enough to run into a burning building, but you certainly will get your ass burned when it comes to riding the streets of NYC, strike or not!