A white bike was chained to a parking sign post at the scene as a permanent memorial to Rahman, who was hit by a truck just after 3 p.m. on Feb. 28.
This ceremony is part of a series being held at the site of every fatal accident in the city involving a cyclist. Since 2005, 42 white bikes have been placed around the city, where, according to ghostbikes.org, one pedestrian a week is killed. Each speaker expressed the hope that they wouldn’t need to hold another event like this one.
Ghostbikes.org members also called for a bike lane on Queens Boulevard, saying that safety was paramount to cyclists which brought many benefits to their riders, such as saving money and providing physical exercise. Bikes also benefit the city through less motor vehicle congestion, and help the environment by not generating air and noise pollution.
Family and friends took turns paying tribute to Rahman, who they referred to as the metaphysical lyrical wizard because he was a poet and hip hop artist.
One mourner, Daniel Nanasi, who had made a documentary about Rahman before he died, traveled from Texas to be at the memorial.
Other speakers included Rahman’s mother Lizi Rahman, his younger brother, Nafees and several friends from Queens College.
Ghostbikes.org creates the white bike memorial ceremonies so that those who die in bike accidents will be remembered as real people, not just statistics.
Each speaker joined Rahman’s mother in calling for a bike lane to be added to the busy thoroughfare, known locally as the Boulevard of Death because of the high number of fatal accidents occurring there.
The Queens Chronicle is interested in hearing readers’ views on the question: Should the city build a bicycle lane on Queens Boulevard?
Send your answers to Mailbox@qchron.com.
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