Local Spokes Youth Ambassadors Need Your Help!

Local Spokes is a coalition of 9 diverse non-profits based in NYC's Lower East Side and Chinatown. We seek to engage, understand and advocate for the community's various perspectives on cycling through multilingual outreach, public participation activities and a Youth Ambassadors program.

Local Spokes Youth Ambassador Program is a 7-week summer program that empowers local teenagers to become leaders in their neighborhood around community development and sustainable transportation through riding bikes.

The Youth Ambassadors meet twice a week and learn about how their neighborhood is shaped, to become advocates for sustainable transportation, and future community leaders. Each week they learn about topics like public art, land use, bike repair & maintenance, and environmental education. They meet with representatives from city government, to learn about how bike lanes are planned and built. This is coupled with weekly group rides using the bike lane network in the neighborhood. The rides help accustom the youth to urban riding and learning the rules of the road while promoting physical activity.

The program last year culminated in a public signage campaign, based upon artwork the Youth Ambassadors created, that encourage people to ride bikes. The art installation is a series of signs that encourage people to ride bikes and convey themes that the Youth Ambassadors were learning about in their program. These signs are located along bike paths and greenways in the Lower East Side and Chinatown.Ultimately the project has given the Youth Ambassadors’ the ability to have an impact on their own neighborhood.