The election for the 2025 NYCC Board is has ended. Here are the results:

 

• President - Colin Taber
• A-Rides Coordinator - Anna Taruschio
• B-Rides Coordinator - YJ Chen
• C-Rides Coordinator - Jim Zisfein
• Content Editor - Sheila O'Connor
• ENY Director - Allan Friedman
• Marketing Director - Kym Blanchard
• Public Relations Director - Neile Weissman
• Secretary - Bob Cohen
• Special Events Director - Denise Alvarez-Heller
• Treasurer - Bob Gilbert
• Volunteer Coordinator - Meredith Weill
• VP Programs - Michael Diener
• VP Rides - Steve Vaccaro
• Webmaster - Natan Elman 

 

 

Here are the candidates and their descriptions.

 

Felipe Diaz-Griffero

 

My name is Felipe Diaz-Griffero (also known as "El Toro Guapo").I am a scientist studying viruses such as HIV-1/AIDS and Corona at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I’ve been a proud member of the New York Cycle Club for nearly 15 years. I’ve completed both the C-SIG and A-SIG programs, and I served as captain of the A-STS for over 10 years. I have also led the Fall Foliage program and created the successful “Done By” ride series.  I’ve led hundreds of Saturday rides and volunteered for Escape New York. One of my fondest cycling memories is from my time in the C-SIG. The leaders took me under their wing and introduced me to the incredible world of cycling, which changed my life forever. I met my fiancée Stacie Urbach on a club ride. Today, we share our lives with our French bulldog, who Stacie named El Toro Guapo Jr.

 

The cycling club is facing a serious challenge in today’s rapidly changing world, as numerous alternatives for organizing and joining rides have emerged. With platforms like Strava, WhatsApp groups, and other social media outlets offering quick and easy ways to connect with riders, the traditional club model is at risk of losing relevance. Riders now have more options than ever, making it essential for the club to innovate and adapt in order to stay competitive. If elected president of the NYCC, my primary goal will be to work closely with the board to enhance both the rider and ride-leader experience. By focusing on streamlining ride sign-ups with modern technology, offering improved benefits for ride leaders to motivate and retain them, and ensuring that every member feels valued and engaged. 

 

As a long-standing member of NYCC, I consider myself a "proletarian" within the club, having led hundreds of rides, and trained many leaders that now lead their own rides. This hands-on experience has given me the knowledge and insight needed to guide the club into the future with the focus on riders and ride-leaders. It has also allowed me to recognize key areas where our club can improve and grow.

My leadership will focus on innovation, riders and ride-leaders:

1) The creation of an app to sign up for rides is essential to streamline and modernize the member experience. By providing a convenient mobile platform, members can easily browse, register for, and track upcoming rides, improving accessibility and engagement. The app will also be synchronized with the NYCC website, ensuring that all ride information is consistently updated across both platforms. 

2) Improving the rider experience goes beyond the ride itself—it's about fostering community and building connections. One way to enhance this experience is by ensuring that riders have opportunities for social interaction and gatherings after the ride, just as I have done in the popular "Done By" series and the A-STS. By making social engagement an integral part of our rides, we will create a more inclusive and enjoyable atmosphere for all cyclists.

3) Substantially improving benefits for ride leaders is crucial to fostering a motivated and loyal leadership base. Offering enhanced perks, such as exclusive gear, recognition, gift cards, access to special events, or even leadership development opportunities, would incentivize more members to take on these roles. Increased rewards not only acknowledge the effort ride leaders put into organizing and guiding rides but also build a sense of belonging and value within the club. Strengthening these benefits would reduce the temptation for leaders to create independent rides outside the NYCC, encouraging them to remain active within the club and contribute to its growth and cohesion.

4) As part of my vision for a stronger NYCC, I will work with the board to establish clear rules and regulations to address and resolve inter-member conflicts, with a strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and the elimination of implicit and explicit bias. These guidelines will promote a culture of respect, ensuring that all members, regardless of background, feel welcome and valued. This approach will help strengthen our community by ensuring that NYCC remains a safe and supportive space for everyone.

5) If elected, I will create a new initiative called "An Hour with the President," where all members of the club will be invited to meet directly with the president and voice concerns, share ideas, and offer feedback. This open forum will take place periodically by zoom providing an opportunity for members to be heard, ask questions, and discuss any issues or suggestions about the club. Member input is invaluable and necessary in shaping the future of our community, so I will encourage everyone to participate. 

 

Colin Taber

You have a choice for Club President this year, and I wanted to post a few words about why I believe I am the club’s best choice going forward, and why you should vote for me.

 

• Dedication - I have served as a leader in both the club’s core activity (leading rides, including the SIG, for 10 years) and the behind-the-scenes business of running the club (served on the board in 3 roles over the past 5-6 years or so, plus, several event organization roles – I’m currently your VP of Rides). I have handled quite a few big lifts for the club over the years and I plan to continue as President.

• Leadership – During my time in the club and on the board, I have worked tirelessly to assess and address many of the Club’s needs. I have empowered others to do the same across many dimensions of the club’s activities. I have

shown myself to be a skillful consensus builder and able partner and leader.

 

 

• Relationships – None of the above would have happened if I was working on my own. I have thoughtfully nurtured fruitful relationships among all levels of riders, and have learned a lot about what makes each level tick. The club is all about getting lots of people with different needs and opinions to work together, and I plan to continue this work as Club President if I get your vote.

 

I have a big tent philosophy when it comes to the club. I simply want to be as inclusive and diverse as possible, and nurture more and better opportunities to deliver the best cycling experiences possible for our Members. We live in one of the biggest diasporas in the world, and we need to do all we can to (continue to) welcome every color, race and creed in the club.

 

The ethos of the club for me has always been encapsulated in a key aspect of what was revealed to me in the SIG – if you lead a ride, you get to choose how it goes, where it goes, when and how far, etc etc. What this means to me is – there’s room for everyone’s contribution. There’s no limits. There needs to be room for every leader and even different cycling philosophies (as long as we’re sufficiently rooted in safety!).

It’s just a bike club. With more rides, everyone wins.

 

WHAT ARE MY GOALS AS PRESIDENT?

Here’s a few that come to mind:

 

• Continue our good work. The current board has been tremendously productive, and has become a cohesive unit that works very well together, despite possessing 15 potentially different opinions. We respect each other’s positions even when we don’t agree. And we come together to guide the club by consensus. It’s a credit to our past and current presidents, Peter Storey and Leora Rosenberg. My goal is to continue down the same path, and lead by consensus. I realize this is a contested election – I truly believe that as someone the majority of the board already knows and trusts, I’m in a better position to guide the club in its top job. Meanwhile, I welcome anyone that wants to take part in the leadership of the club to get in touch with me or any board member.

• Finish and launch the new website. We have modernized already, moving to Discord, but there’s an exciting new development right around the corner – the team led by Michael Diener, Sheila O’Connor, Natan Elman and Bob Gilbert is not far from launching the new website for the NYCC. It will be mobile-friendly and equally comfortable to use on a computer as many are used to. This team is leading a team of professionals to build it and the club has already invested significantly. Once it’s launched, it will need further development, and for this we will be partially repurposing the role of VP of Programs to support its development under Michael. It will likely take all of 2025 at least to ‘finish’ it, and probably longer for all the bells and whistles – guys, it’s going to be really good! Then it will need stewardship as we move into the future. Our internet presence is that important.

• Increase transparency. I will always make myself available to chat with you on any topic. The club is important. I will encourage the same of the board. I do agree that the board is sometimes a bit too shrouded in mystery. What’s the right way to dispel that? Reach out with your suggestions - I will do something about it, based on my ideas and yours.

• Continue challenging the status quo in a productive way. Other board members can tell you, I will often poke and prod at our traditions and institutions to ensure we’re looking for the best way to do things.

 

Thank you for reading. While this was a bit lengthy, it’s important for all members to know why a vote for me will be good for the club. See you on the road!

 

Michael Diener

 

Many club members know me through the weekly Leveled Laps rides in Central Park and the fun A-level weekend rides our team organizes. What many club members may not know is that my efforts extend across A, B, and C groups as I've led A, B, and C rides.

One of my goals is to help riders across all levels celebrate together during NYCC club rides. Last year we launched the ABC ride series. This allowed A, B, and C rides to enjoy different routes, yet all arrive at the same ending point to celebrate together. A year before that we launched the Fort Washington Public House celebration point for A, B, and C rides that ended in the city. Riders across all levels look forward to meeting and socializing with one another after their ride is complete. 

Another program I'm focused upon is coordinating the development of a new NYCC website. The current website is a bit dated, and designers and developers are working on a new version that will support rides for A, B, and C levels.

 

Steve Vaccaro

 

I am running for Vice President-Rides. The responsibilities of the post are (1) to support and coordinate the activities of the A-, B-, and C-Rides Coordinators in managing the club's ride offerings in those classifications; (2) helping identify and resolve issues affecting the club's ride programming generally; (3) serving ex officio as a member of the NYCC Board of Directors, addressing all business brought before the board. Please vote for me so I can step up and take on this important club role!

My key qualifications for the post are my experience as B-Rides Coordinator for two years, and the development, listing and leading of more than 100 club rides over the last decade. I also served as the club's Programs Director for two years in the height of the pandemic, working to keep the ride programming and social life of the club vibrant during those difficult years.

My record of service to the club and decades of experience as a bike lawyer and advocate in New York and New Jersey are prime reasons to vote for me. I've fulfilled my board membership responsibly, actively participating in almost all Board meetings since 2019. I bring to these meetings my experience and insights not only with the club, but also as a board member and volunteer with other bike-related groups, including Transportation Alternatives, Bike New York, New Jersey Bike-Walk Coalition, and StreetsPAC, the cyclists' political action committee. I also support our club in other roles, including as a speaker on topics of bike law and advocacy, and through my law firm, Vaccaro Law, as a decade-plus sponsor of Escape New York, a sponsor of NYCC's "Young Majors" youth road cycling program, and of other club programs and events.

If elected to the post of VP-Rides, I'm looking forward to the long-awaited launch of the club's new website and ride-listing system (many thanks to my tech-savvy colleagues on the Board who are making this happen!) It is a huge challenge for an all-volunteer organization to maintain a first-class interactive website in a rapidly evolving tech environment. As a ride leader and administrative user of the website who is relatively unsophisticated in matters digital, I've spent a fair amount of time providing feedback to those leading the redesign. I will continue to do so as we fine-tune following the launch. Thank you to all club members for your patience with this process!

I'm also looking forward to organizing and facilitating a planning meeting later this year for regular B Ride leaders, a new project for which the Board has provided funding. The idea is to hold an annual dinner meeting at the end of the riding season where the various leaders of non-SIG, B-class rides (training, cue sheet, other ride types) can discuss how the season went and plans for next season. A key goal is identifying, recruiting and supporting new leaders.  If successful, I hope to foster (with the A-, B- and C-Rides Coordinators) annual meetings of this type for regular leaders in those classifications.

Please vote to elect me as Vice-President-Rides so I can continue to support robust, diverse, year-round ride programming, and the board's broader work of improving the best bike club in the nation as we approach our 100th anniversary.

 

Bob Gilbert

 

It has been a pleasure serving as the club treasurer for the last few years and would like to continue this function since I believe that I am doing a good job.  As Treasurer, each year I create a budget that the board reviews and approves. Each month I provide the board with complete year-to-date financials to review our progress against our budget and historical data. Sometimes I will perform an analysis of aspects of our financials that need some attention.  We have taken advantage of the higher interest rates and moved a large portion of our funds to a high yield money market account and CD. Most importantly, I respond promptly to all membership and board questions. Besides the treasurer’s function, like the rest of the board members, I take on other responsibilities.  I support Facebook as an administrator and answer many questions via that channel, especially to our new members. Recently I have been administering our Strava club page. For ENY this year, I reviewed the routes to get them in synch and managed the team that actually did mark the routes, in addition in helping Allan with other aspects of the ride.  Finally, I help with some of the technical issues aiding our editor and webmaster and am part of the management team responsible for the development for the new website.  Thanks for your support.   

 

Bob Cohen

 

I served as Club Secretary this year, 2024, and want to continue in this role for 2025. Please show your support and cast your vote. The responsibilities include keeping Board Meeting minutes, maintaining Club documents, and participating in Club governance. My background includes Board positions in professional organizations and over 25 years running a mid-sized NYC Law Firm. I became an active member of NYCC in 2016 though I recall my first ride with the Club was ENY in 2012. I have been a multi-year ENY volunteer at check-in, leading escorted rides, and helping with early morning setup. I am a B-SIG graduate and have been a B-SIG and R-STS ride leader and a B & C ride participant. Thank you for your support!

 

Kym Blanchard

 

My goal is to encourage and recruit more memberships, and to make all members (long-term and new) feel welcomed and a valued member of the NYCC community.  In addition, I hope to work with the team to increase the benefits of membership and communicate the value of the organization louder.  I'm also thrilled and committed to furthering the efforts of the Marketing, Diversity & Inclusion committees, and to make YoungMajorsNYCC a sustainable youth cycling program.  I welcome any suggestions on how to broaden our membership deeper into all parts of NYC.  Overall, I feel my position is to ensure that we fulfill the mission of the club, and all members truly feel the benefits.

 

Allan Friedman

 

It remains a pleasure and a privilege to offer myself as a candidate for the role of NYCC ENY Ride Director.

 

For those who know me, I trust I will have your support based on your awareness of how I have handled this important club event since 2020. If you have any issues at all, please know that I welcome hearing concerns - the earlier the better - as it informs how the ENY Management Team runs the ride, and our #1 goal is always rider and members satisfaction with every aspect of the event insofar as that is possible.

 

For those who don't know me, I am borrowing from the text I used in past years to share my unique experience that qualifies me for this role. I will also update with developments that came from our work in 2023 and 2024. If you'd like to know more - I'd love to hear from you and am happy to answer any questions. And if you'd like to help manage next year's ride (it's gotten easier each year) - please reach out to me at enyridedirector@nycc.org.

 

I had an opportunity to ride ENY in 2018 when I also volunteered on "Logistics Friday'', the day before the ride. In 2019 I understudied with my predecessor who was a great Ride Director and mentor who shared his experience in detail. I spoke to many previous ride directors in 2020 who were very helpful and shared vast amounts of their experience. While we had to cancel 2020 due to Covid, we still raised funds selling apparel and through donations for our causes. Finally in 2021 and 2022, I had the opportunity to run two rides successfully. In 2023, we were on the cusp of another great ride - with new NYCC volunteers on the management team who helped make the ride better and easier to manage. We were ready, earlier than we'd ever been.... and then mother nature had other ideas, and we did the right thing and decided not to hold it during the bad weather that hit precisely at the time of our ride. And then, there is 2024. We had only about 10% of the people who rolled over ask for their money back - typically due to schedule conflicts that had emerged. But we grew the ride using newer marketing approaches like partnerships with local bike shops and charities (if you know any we aren't speaking with - we only have a few and are developing more, please send along your favorite bike shop or cause to enyridedirector@nycc.org). Gone are the days where we play the "price increase game" and send out far too many emails to our followers. We use social media and partner lists to draw new riders into our extended community to support the #1 purposes of the ride. Giving new to NYCC riders a change to experience how we ride. 

 

The role is challenging, but also can be a lot of fun. In late 2022 and early 2023, the board convened a sub-committee (made up of the majority of the NYCC board at the time) to work on ways to make the ride easier to manage, and many of the board members helped throughout 2023 and were ready to help on the day of the ride. I have built and will continue to build on this and continue the trend of integrating ENY into the fabric of how we run the club. It's a bigger lift, for sure, than other events we offer, but I find it keeps getting easier especially with the direct support of the board and NYCC's great volunteer spirit. And this year, thanks to an awesome new volunteer coordinator, we had "seasoned volunteers" join us in good numbers, so we had depth in many vital places without taxing club members too much.

 

If this has you curious at all and you are interested in learning more about any aspect of the ride - perhaps you'd even like to be part of our 2025 management team - please strike up a conversation with me at enyridedirector@nycc.org! My goal since I started in this role remains to leave the ride in better shape than I found it and to make it easier for the club to manage over time. 

 

Look forward to another great year in 2025.

 

Meredith Weill

 

I would be honored to serve for a second year on the NYCC Board as Volunteer Coordinator and so am asking for your vote. I've learned a lot about the role over the past year and will bring my experience and continued enthusiasm for NYCC and all it does to the work of encouraging volunteer engagement and ensuring volunteers feel appreciated and supported!

 

In 2023, the C-SIG gave me an excellent introduction to the incredible programming that NYCC generates entirely through the work of volunteers. I was so impressed by, and felt so welcomed through, the generous encouragement I received from my SIG leaders, other ride leaders, and current and former Board members, as I began participating in regular club rides and weekend trips. Over the rest of 2023, following the conclusion of the SIG, I led 11 rides. In 2024, I co-led the C-SIG group that I had been a member of the year before.

 

As an attorney who works on policy development and implementation, I have experience listening to and incorporating disparate perspectives and ideas into policies and then implementing those policies. I think my experience with anticipating varied views of an issue and being open to hearing all opinions will help me account for the diversity of interests of club members when carrying out my Board responsibilities. 

 

NYCC’s all-volunteer operation is truly remarkable. I hope you will give me the opportunity to continue to contribute by serving as Volunteer Coordinator in 2025.

 

Neille Weisman

 

My job as Public Relations Director can be broken down into four parts:

 

• I maintain relations with agencies like Metro North, Long Island Railroad, NJ Transit and Central Park Conservancy—agencies the Club depends on to run its ride programs.

 

• In concert with other cycling groups, I lobby for legislation to make cycling safer and easier, to expand bike access across bridges, and to broadly expand recreational cycling opportunities across the region. 

 

• I administer the Club's Roll it Forward! giving program. 

 

• I'm the first point-of-contact for reporters seeking reactions to cycling-related events or consumer advice on cycling gear.

 

Although not strictly part of my role as PR Director, I also coordinate Club weekends in New Paltz and Southampton, Fall Foliage rides and the R-STS spring training series.

 

As New York’s oldest and most prestigious bike club, NYCC is well positioned to champion cycling and diversify the cycling community.  As Public Relations Director, I will continue to make that happen.

 

Sheila O'Connor

 

I have served as Content Editor for NYCC since April 2021 and have been a member of NYCC since 2014. It will be an honor to serve in that role again in 2025. I came to the position with professional experience managing websites, social media and email communications and I enjoy using my knowledge and skills to support my passion. As content editor, I have developed a content calendar for the NYCC monthly newsletter, provided timely additions and updates to the website, including promoting special events and monthly membership mixers, while providing seamless maintenance, ensuring it is functioning as it should. I serve on the marketing committee and have helped support Escape New York, the volunteer incentive program and many of the Club events.

 

We are very close to launching a new website through the work of a fantastic team. As content editor, I look forward to communicating the roll out of the new site during 2025.

 

I do this because of my passion for cycling and my commitment to NYCC. I enjoy riding my bike with other club members.

 

Natan Elman

 

It's been an honor to be on the board of NYCC since 2019 and serve members in the role of the Webmaster. I would like to continue helping the club in that role. I assist with technical questions that come from members regarding user accounts on the web as well as addressing issues that come up with the website. I will also be involved in migrating the website to a new technology.  

 

Denise Alvarez-Heller

 

Have been a Financial Controller for 13 years.  5 of those in retail business and 8 currently in the construction industry.  Also have experience as a Project Manager in construction.  Both of these positions have given me experience in organization and operations management. 

Aside from the technical capabilities I just plain believe in the NYCC.  I know I am grateful to have been referred to the club and wish for its successful continuation. 

 

Anna Taruschio

 

It’s been a signal honor to serve on the Board as A-Rides Coordinator this past year. We are an amazing organization, led by a group of remarkable and devoted people, and inspired by our great common love of cycling.

I know our A-Riders value the great diversity of options and programs available: from early morning laps (5 days a week!) in Central and Prospect Parks; to longer weekend rides (both really fast and more casual); to our epic ride programs – the A-SIG, the A-STS, and a number of “mini-series” that have been curated with extreme care by their leaders. As Coordinator I have loved supporting, facilitating, and growing these rides through all the seasons in our great City.

In terms of specific accomplishments this year, I am proud to have ensured the smooth and safe running of A-rides and I’ve assisted leaders and participants as needed with planning, posting and executing rides. I’ve liaised between the A-SIG and A-STS and the Board and have also helped to plan and implement significant other Club programs such as the A-STS, YoungMajors/NYCC, and Escape New York. Lastly, as a lawyer in my professional life I have enjoyed being able to use my knowledge and resources to further the Club’s goals.

 

YJ Chen

 

I’m YJ Chen and have been a NYCC member since 2017. In 2024 I had the honor of serving as VP of Programs on the board. During my tenure I emphasized more interactive programming during our monthly member mixers. I have however realized that I find the most joy in organizing and planning rides, (as well as being on rides!) hence I am running for B-rides coordinator.

 

I was a B-SIG participant in 2017, and I’ve had the pleasure of being a B-SIG leader since 2021. During the 2024 cycling season, I created a progressive elevation series for the early-mid summer, encouraged B-level cyclists to join and lead Leveled Laps in Central Park, and organized B-level rides for the fall ABC Ride series.

 

B-level rides are an active and vibrant part of the club today. As B-rides coordinator, I will support the existing community of ride leaders. I also plan to encourage and develop newer leaders to expand the range of B-level offerings. I myself was not a natural ride leader when I joined the club, taking a few years of easing into it with the encouragement of other seasoned ride leaders.

 

Lastly, after a year as VP of Programs, I've come to realize the current iteration of club monthly meetings is no longer effective. Our general club programming should function as a way for members to share information and connect and be held in a more flexible format; while the VP of programs role can be transitioned to focus on more pressing priorities for the club, such as completing our new website. As a continuing board member, I will provide support for the steps to remake the role and the concept of member programming.

 

Jim Zisfein

 

I am running for re-election as C-rides coordinator for 2024. I am a retired physician, 72 years old, NYCC member since 2013, and an active C-ride leader with over 20 rides led each year. I have also served as ENY escorted rides coordinator and as consultant to the club for pandemic-related guidance. I believe that NYCC needs to accommodate responsible cyclists at all levels. We should offer C rides not just for beginners but as an option for lifelong cycling enjoyment. As C-rides coordinator I will continue to work with ride leaders to increase the number of C rides and thereby help to attract and retain club members who prefer these rides.