The PPW Bike-Lane Lawsuit is a Reality
The lawsuit over the Prospect Park West bike lane that’s been threatened for about a month has now been filed, and it asserts that the city acted “arbitrarily” in installing the lane and that it should be removed. Streetsblog, which has a link so you can download the filing in its entirety (PDF here), says…
The lawsuit over the Prospect Park West bike lane that’s been threatened for about a month has now been filed, and it asserts that the city acted “arbitrarily” in installing the lane and that it should be removed. Streetsblog, which has a link so you can download the filing in its entirety (PDF here), says the following about the meat and potatoes of the suit: “It argues that DOT acted in an ‘arbitrary and capricious’ manner, with conclusions made irrationally or in bad faith. It argues that the bike lane did not properly go through the necessary processes given the landmarked status of the Park Slope neighborhood and Prospect Park. And finally, it argues that an environmental review was necessary to assess the impact of the lane on the historic character of the area.” The Times’ story on the lawsuit, meanwhile, notes the political connections of the group behind the filing, who have “close ties to Iris Weinshall, the city’s transportation commissioner from 2000 to 2007 and the wife of Senator Charles E. Schumer” and that they’ve “produced e-mail correspondence…[seeking] to portray…an effort by the Transportation Department to coordinate criticism of the lane’s opponents.” A DOT spokesman tells the newspaper that the data it has released on how the lane has made Prospect Park West safer is legit. The lawsuit names the DOT and, separately, its commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, as respondents.
Lawsuit Seeks to Erase Bike Lane in New York City [NY Times]
Opponents Sue City Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane [Streetsblog]
Lawsuit Filed Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane [PS Patch]
Do people really think they are making their argument stronger by using terms like “Bloomturd” and “Emperor Mike?”
It just seems elementary school to me.
HEIGHT OF FRIVOLITY!
CAPS!
Seriously this is complete BS and I don’t even give a crap – no bike, never over there in the first place – bite me bike scofflaws – but bite me harder you nimby entitled litigious turd gobblers.
OK…when the discussion becomes a dialog between someone giving us a civics lesson on how a bogus lawsuit about bike lanes is saving us from dictatorship, and a retiree who is calling the mayor “Bloomturd”, it’s time for the rest of us to move on.
Bye now.
Morralkan… You do know there is a difference between City government and Federal government, right? The Bloomberg Administration spends money on City things (roads, bike lanes, pedestrian zones, energy infrastructure, sanitation, homeless shelters, etc.) and the Federal Government spends money on Federal things, umm, like Riis Park.
Minard… it IS frivolous. Not the right to sue, but the SUIT ITSELF. They claim there wasn’t appropriate review or community input — when there was a HUGE AMOUNT. The bike lane didn’t just appear out of nowhere! The simple fact is that these bitchy NIMBYs didn’t get their self-entitled way. The majority of the community got their way! Gaack! God forbid!
quote:
Surely the critical mass folks could think of some funny ways to drive the point home to Marty, Schumer, and others
no way that will not help the cyclist cause, those critical mass people are total assholes!
*rob*
Jaguar, there is nothing frivolous about it. It is an important civic issue. The outcome of the suit could effect many communities as well as the political reputation of high ranking officials. This is grown-up stuff.
There might have been stimulus money to spend on Riis park and other beaches, Legion, but Bloomturd has been spending the stimulus money on bike lanes, medians, and pedestrian malls instead.
I wanted Wiener to run for mayor against Bloomturd last time and will definitely vote for him this time if he does run.
bike lane thread once again proves to be top ROI subject for this blog