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]
fuplease: Good job unmasking Astroturf mom.
“Riis is the least of our worries when it comes to public park lands!”
Well it concerns me alot since it’s the closest real beach to my home.
Trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see and what have those two brought home to New Yorkers?
I think they could fall into a barrel of boobs and come out sucking their thumbs!
Legion — The National Parks Service and National Forest Service has been decimated in the past decade. Riis is the least of our worries when it comes to public park lands!
PKSLPMOM:
It’s pretty clear you’re just a stalking horse for these NIMBY/bike lane hater groups.
-You’ve been on Brownstoner “since 2011”.
-Your first-even post was on Feb 25.
-All your posts are on the bike lane.
-You write these long, carefully crafted comments in which you spend most of your time spinning the issue by “questioning the process” and trying to slow things down. You talk about how you’re not “against”, you just want things to be “better.”
Example:
“I’m not questioning the underlying goal of this by the Community Board effort at all – I’m just questioning the process that got us to where we are today and would hope that with a bit more time at the table we can reach a solution to better meet that initial goal for all constituents!”
Do you actually write this stuff yourself, or have you been given talking points?
Also, I have to say your choice a user name (“Park Slope Mom”) seems particularly cynical. How old are your kids? Are they 7 or 27? (Your profile says you”ve lived here since 1983, so I’m guessing closer to 27.) As a “mom”, do you want seven year old kids riding in traffic lanes on PPW? In an unprotected bike lane on 2nd St. or 5th Ave? Running over “senior” on the sidewalk? And how do you get your small kids from 3rd & PPW to Grand Army Plaza and back? Have them ride uphill loops for 3.35 miles through Prospect Park?
Everything about your posts is contrived. At least you’ve created your account in your own name,so we can Google you.
Weiner sucks,
Schmucky Schumer and Weiner both posture endlessly for political gain while letting
the Gateway National Recreation Area go down the drain.
Don’t believe me? Go take a look at the condition of
Riis Park, it’s become a dumping ground.
What should be a jewel of a recreational area for Brooklyn, right on the Atlantic is falling apart and these two losers couldn’t even get some funding together while the Fed is on a Trillion dollar spending spree.
“dh, I heard him on TV. He didn’t seem to be joking. ”
oh yeah – he was totally serious.
even though i’m pro bike lane, weiner seems pretty awesome.
PPW needs to be a two-way street. This is necessary to reduce traffic throughout the Slope. Right now, the only way to get through GAP from Park Slope is to go on Union Street, which gridlocks 8th Avenue and creates a noisy polluting traffic jam on Union Street every day. DOT has objected to this because it would necessitate an additional cycle in the already complex GAP traffic light regimen. By creating a PPW bike lane, where there are already numerous bike alternatives through the park, the 2-way PPW becomes impossible.
Also, I agree with those (Weiner?) who argue that the new parking lane interferes with PPW’s visual identity as a grand tree lined boulevard terminating in a triumphal arch. Among the idea of Landmarking a neighborhood is to maintain this kind of unique character, which is affected not only by brick and mortar modification, but by these “softer” changes as well. This is why we don’t have parking in Prospect Park- it would be visually intrusive to a treasured urban landscape. I maintain that visually narrowing PPW is similarly discordant.
Slopey at 11:52…FUNNY!!
dh, I heard him on TV. He didn’t seem to be joking.