Carlos Martinez, Green Map System's Latin American Liaison and Office Manager, became a US citizen today!

This Colombian-born environmental administrator was also in today's New York Times, thanks to his healthy green habit of bicycling to work, then bringing his bike inside to store safely at the office.

As reported by Colin Moynihan:

" When Carlos Martinez bicycles to work in Manhattan from his home in Jackson Heights, Queens, he must ride along Northern Boulevard, a broad and busy thoroughfare, before crossing the Queensboro Bridge and heading south on Second Avenue toward the East Village.

It is a commute that few bicyclists would relish.

But when Mr. Martinez gets to his office on East Fourth Street, where he works as the Latin American liaison for an environmental group called Green Map System, he becomes the envy of riders across the city. That is because the office building allows him to bring his bike upstairs and stash it in a walk-in closet alongside bikes belonging to three or four co-workers.

“It’s one less problem for me,” Mr. Martinez said. “At least I know my vehicle is O.K., so I’m pretty sure I can get back home safely.”

It may seem like a simple sentiment, but having a safe place to store a bike at work is an urban amenity..."

enjoy the rest of the New York Times article about the difficulty commuters have parking bikes at work here!

Congratulations to Carlos, and thanks to all Green Map staff and Mapmakers worldwide who use bicycles as an everyday vehicle for social change!

(thanks to Gottfried Haider, too, for shooting this portrait!)