PPW Bike Lane Kerfuffle: Volume MCDVI (Apx)
There’s a feature about the city’s bike wars in the latest New York mag entitled “Not Quite Copenhagen,” and the Prospect Park West imbroglio plays a very prominent role. What’s learned? Bike-lane foe Louise Hainline has “an expensive spy camera” to document the bike lane traffic because she’s intent on debunking city stats about how…
There’s a feature about the city’s bike wars in the latest New York mag entitled “Not Quite Copenhagen,” and the Prospect Park West imbroglio plays a very prominent role. What’s learned? Bike-lane foe Louise Hainline has “an expensive spy camera” to document the bike lane traffic because she’s intent on debunking city stats about how much usage it gets and says the characterization of her and others who oppose the lane—”that we’re a bunch of old, crotchety rich people that don’t understand that they deserve to have a bike lane on our street”—is incorrect. Then there’s Aaron Naparstek, creator of Streetsblog and co-founder of Park Slope Neighbors, who says this about the firm working pro bono on the suit against the lane: “It’s crazy. Gibson Dunn is the law firm that represented George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore in 2000. Now they’re working to get rid of a bike lane. Think about that.” Meanwhile, former transportation commissioner Iris Weinshall’s support opposition to the lane is also called questioned: “‘Clearly, if the lawsuit was to succeed, [Weinshall] could say, ‘See, I was reasonable after all,’ says Andrew Vesselinovitch, who served as the New York City ‘bike czar’ under Weinshall before leaving the DOT in protest in 2006. To Weinshall’s critics, she is waging a personal vendetta” against current commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Following the publication of the article, the city defended its bike lane program and said the majority of New Yorkers support the lanes.
Not Quite Copenhagen [NY Mag]
Morralkan: I absolutely agree with you that these people have the right to protest and petition the government, but, that doesn’t mean they don’t look like a bunch of rich, entitled brats crying over spilt milk. What is this, some sort of a boarding school fight between two transportation commissioners that has gone public? While I agree that this particular City Hall has a history of cooking the books, I would be a lot more interested in Schumer’s wife’s perspective on that had she managed to convince Gibson Dunn to sue DOE about school policies (hiring Kathie Black for example) or other issues that seem a bit less petty than wanting to remove the bike lane from in front of your own mansion.
Gibson Dunn — what a bunch of cunts. Most people would probably expect them to use their pro bono time helping the disenfranchised and oppressed, you know, the undocumented immigrant juvenile who is in detention and facing deportation proceedings and has no right to counsel, something like that.
The residents of the city, especially those living right along PPW have every right to protest the bike lanes. (Called freedom of speech, I believe.) They have the right to lawyers working on their behalf. (The emperor and Sadik-Khan have plenty of high priced lawyers they are using; use of consultants has proliferated under our emperor.) They even have the right to set up “expensive” cameras to video the bike lanes. (I doubt anyone believes this is invasion of privacy.) One thing I remain to be convinced of by this administration is that they don’t cook stats. They’ve certainly done it at the DOE and also, as it recently appears, with the city budget. States coming from the police department sometimes don’t seem to jibe with reality. But Sadik-Khan is a saint. Give me a break!
Since we’re going into lala-land, let’s REALLY connect the dots.
I’ll bet it’s a coalition of the Koch brothers, Wal-Mart, the Tea Party and Colonel Khaddafi that is behind this sinister lawsuit.
Everytime I read about this bike lane, my heart is filled with sunshine at the thought that the liberals in Park Slope finally have a worthy cause to devote their pro bono time and efforts to: opposing a bike lane. Meanwhile, in the real world . . . .
OK, I can see that the Bush part isn’t especially relevant. Wish they’d just said more about the inappropriateness of using pro bono this way.
zinka, then connect the dots and provide proof of some sinister doings, because making some vague assertion and ending with ‘think about that!’ is sophmoric and embarrassing.
Janette had close associations with Douglas Durst, the real estate mogul…yeah, whats THAT all about then….and he was questioned for murder…so think about that!
🙂
“”It’s crazy. Gibson Dunn is the law firm that represented George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore in 2000. Now they’re working to get rid of a bike lane. Think about that.”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA
That’s got to be the funniest/stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
Is Hainline crazy? She spends all night counting bike in the middle of winter? So strange the things people get crazy over when they have too much time and money.