Constituent Spotlight - July 2012

Jay “Rocket” Ruiz is the president and founder of The Brooklyn Bike Patrol, a group of volunteers who are dedicated to making the women of Brooklyn feel safe as they travel from train stations to their homes in the evening hours.

Last fall, Ruiz was watching a newscast about the spree of sexual assaults in the Park Slope area when he got an idea. “What if every woman was safely escorted home?” Ruiz said to his wife that night in their Prospect Heights home.

“I can do this. I can hop on my bike, bring women home and then they wouldn’t be attacked,” Ruiz said, who rides his bike about 26 miles every day – 11 miles round-trip to work and about 15 miles each night while escorting women for the Brooklyn Bike Patrol.

Since its inception, the Brooklyn Bike Patrol has expanded to service 35 various train stops in Brooklyn, including Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Sunset Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Carroll Gardens, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Borough Park, Fort Greene, and Clinton Hill. Ruiz and his team of 11 volunteers have been background checked by the 72nd Precinct, and their pictures can be found on the bike patrol’s facebook page.

Just call ahead of time before you board your train, and one of their volunteers will be waiting to meet and escort you home safely. Hours of operation are Sunday thru Thursday, 8 pm to 12 midnight; Friday and Saturday, 8 pm to 3 am. (Other times may be accommodated with advance notice). You can reach the Brooklyn Bike Patrol via:

Telephone – 718-744-7592

Email: brooklynbikepatrol@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/BROOKLYNBIKEPATROL

Twitter: @BKbikepatrol