Be’chol Lashon closed out the summer with a Peace Bike Ride, held in collaboration with the New York Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and community partners throughout the city. The ride brought people together across faiths, backgrounds, neighborhoods, and ages with a shared goal of gaining a greater understanding of the connections between individuals and communities. One of the partners integral to the event was Christine, P.A.T.H. (Partners Against the Hate) Director with the 67th Precinct’s GodSquad. She spoke with Be’chol Lashon about the significance and meaningful impact of this year’s ride.
What happens when people from different faiths, neighborhoods, and backgrounds come together to explore New York City by bike? For Christine, the Peace Bike ride was an opportunity to build connection, curiosity, and trust.
The recent Peace Bike Ride brought participants of all ages and backgrounds together to visit houses of worship and community spaces across the city. The ride grew out of years of collaboration among community organizations and reflected Christine’s broader work bringing people together across differences.
“I think that a lot of people do walks, which is great,” Christine said. “The purpose of the bike was to engage more young people, and it was more active. It allowed us to reach more ground. We could visually see another neighborhood.”
The route brought participants into spaces they might not otherwise have visited. At each stop, someone from the community shared about their faith and its role in the neighborhood. Participants had opportunities to ask questions and, rather than simply observe, they got to actively participate in the community.
At a Hindu temple, someone connected to the faith shared about their beliefs and the temple’s role in the community. At a synagogue, participants learned about Jewish life and had the opportunity to ask questions. At a mosque, community members welcomed the group into conversations and even into a basketball game. At a Seventh-day Adventist church, participants learned about the faith and watched a community performance.
“It’s different biking through and visiting different houses of worship and where people are living their daily lives,” Christine said.
The bike itself became a special opportunity for building relationships.
“Biking was another tool we could use. And it’s a different layer of trust that you have with people. It helped us make trust and communication there right away.”
Participants came with different levels of biking experience, and Christine loved seeing people step outside their comfort zones to take part.
“There was a lot of beauty in this with people joining to be a part of the experience. It pushed people to say, ‘I’m going to try.’”
For Christine, that willingness to try, whether it means visiting an unfamiliar neighborhood, entering a new house of worship, or simply talking with someone new, is central to building stronger communities.
“This is my everyday type of work. A creative way for people to connect. This was one of those ways that was a beautiful opportunity. The goal is always to explore, connect, and learn about each other.”
The hope is for the Peace Bike Ride become an annual event, moving to a different borough each year and continuing to introduce people to communities beyond their own.
“The impact is that people can take the empathy that they’ve gained and the better understanding of people outside of their faith, neighborhood, and give them a chance,” Christine said. “If people take an opportunity to have a conversation, that will help to solve a lot of the challenges we come across. An understanding that we have a lot more in common.”
The Peace Bike Ride was made possible through collaboration with: The New York Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, Save the People, Jewish Community Relations Council, Shri Shakti Mariammaa Temple, Darul-Uloom New York, South Ozone Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Greater New York Conference, among other community partners.
