Friends and family gathered to morn the loss of James Langergaard – another victim of the infamous “Boulevard of Death.”
Langergaard, 38, was memorialized with a white “ghost bike,” which mourners chained to the median of Queens Boulevard at 69th St. in Woodside on Friday, October 2.
An avid cyclist and Transportation Alternatives volunteer, he was struck by a motorist while crossing the busy Queens Boulevard intersection on his bike, on Friday, August 14.
In addition to the memorial service, friends and supporters of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group that supports monthly bike rides around the Queens community, rode over the Queensboro Bridge in Langergaard’s honor.
“I met James about four years ago while working with him at Transportation Alternatives,” said Wiley Norvell, a spokesperson for the group. “He had been volunteering for about 10 years at that point and had already achieved legend status.”
Langergaard was described as a “quirky and fun-loving guy” who put others’ needs before his own. The cyclist was deemed “New York City’s bike philosopher,” for his general knowledge of books and information.
On the day of his death, Langergaard was in a rush and apparently ran a red light.
His mother, Linda, knew her son as a loving and caring person who was selfless in his endeavors.
“At the memorial service, I had been overwhelmed by the number of people that came and talked about how he had touched their lives,” said Linda. “He had a way of always making people laugh and could always put people at ease.”
Langergaard, who lost his father at ne early age, never obtained a driver’s license. His mother said that he was impatient in that sense and always hated to wait for buses or other means of transportation.
One of his closest friends, Ken Coughlin, remembered Langergaard for the great companion that he was. Coughlin and Langergaard would frequently share their favorite books.
“We traded books with each other because we were both well-read and had the same taste,” said Coughlin, who tied laminated covers of Langergaard’s favorite books to the ghost bike.
Langergaard was the second cyclist in 19 months to be killed on Queens Boulevard. Because many motorists speed at least 15-25-mph over the 30-mph speed limit, Transportation Alternatives continuously advocates for a safe bike lane for cyclists to ride in without fear.
Even during the memorial, cars barely slowed down.
“Just being on that street for the memorial was dangerous … it’s really frightening,” said Linda.
