Broken glass, sharp words on L-plan bike lanes
BY RICO BURNEY
The L-train shutdown may no longer be happening,
but the fl ap surrounding the Department
of Transportation’s plans to mitigate the effects
of the repair work continues.
Cyclists posted photos on Twitter on Thursday
night and Friday morning of glass shards in multiple
locations in the new 12th and 13th Sts. bike lanes and
anti-bike-lane graffi ti and signs next to the lanes.
“12/13TH St Bike Lane CANCELED. West Village
Parking Only: Bike Lanes Benefi t Only OTHER People,”
said one sign taped to a white plastic delineator.
“Bring Back OUR Parking!” read a graffi ti message
in the buffer zone.
“We are very disturbed about the reports from
the Village, where new protected bicycle lanes were
recently defaced and rendered dangerous by broken
glass,” said Chief Thomas Chan, of the Police Department’s
Transportation Division, and D.O.T. Commissioner
Polly Trottenberg in a joint statement.
The New York Police Department said it will “vigorously
investigate” and “hold the perpetrator(s)
accountable for these disturbing acts to the community.”
Council Speaker Corey Johnson, whose district includes
14th St., tweeted his outrage at the action:
“This is unacceptable,” he wrote. “In my district.
Shame on whoever did this. All New Yorkers are entitled
to safe spaces, on two wheels or on foot.”
Some cyclists believe that groups, such as the 14th
St. Coalition and Advocates for Justice — two of
the most prominent opponents to the 12th and 13th
Street bike lanes and the larger D.O.T. plans for 14th
St. — and their supporters bear some responsibility
for the hostile act against the bike lanes.
PHOTO BY DRIVERSOFNYC
Small piles of broken glass were left in the new
bike lanes on 12th and 13th Sts. on Thursday night
and Friday morning. The photographer swept this
glass out of the lane before taking the photo.
“Advocates for Justice knows that their supporters
are prime suspects to do such a thing,” said Jonathan
Warner, who works along the 14th St. corridor and
was the fi rst to photograph the glass and anti-bikelane
signs on Twitter. “This group has no respect for
orderly process, and I would not be surprised if someone
affi liated with them did this, as it is exactly in
line with their members’ disrespectful and aggressive
behavior in the past.”
Members of the 14th St. Coalition, for their part,
dismissed any assertions that anyone directly involved
with their cause would do such a thing.
“While the 14th St. Coalition has rejected the need
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for dedicated bike lanes on 12th and 13th Sts., the Coalition
has had no involvement in, nor condoned, the
defacing of the bike lanes,” they wrote in a statement.
“It’s absolutely appalling that people would do
something like that,” said Judy Pesin, the co-chairperson
of the 14th St. Coalition.
Arthur Schwartz, an attorney with Advocates for
Justice, also condemned the attack, but argued that
Transportation Alternatives — the pro-cycling group
that also supports the 14th St. “busway” plan — is
also guilty of using “guerilla tactics.”
“What I don’t like about T.A. is that, fi rst, they link
me with the graffi ti and the glass in the bike lanes,” he
said, speaking on Friday afternoon. “Then, they gave
out my address and phone number… . Somebody rang
my doorbell and yelled at my wife 10 minutes ago.”
Last year, Schwartz, representing the Coalition
and others, fi led two lawsuits against the L-shutdown
plan, charging that it required a full environmental
impact study. One of the lawsuits is still active.
On Thursday, Schwartz wrote to Phil Karmel, an
attorney with the Brian Cave law fi rm, which is defending
D.O.T. against the Coalition’s lawsuit.
“D.O.T. should know,” Schwartz wrote in the
letter, “that those bike lanes and buffer zones have
simply become truck parking and construction zones.
When there is traffi c on 12th or 13th Sts., emergency
vehicles cannot use the bike lanes or buffer zones.”
He went on to write that he and the Coalition will
continue to fi ght D.O.T. until it enters “genuine negotiations”
with neighborhood stakeholders.
A D.O.T. spokesperson said the agency plans to
keep all aspects of its initial Manhattan L-train shutdown
“alternative service plan” in place as it continues
to review the new proposal put forth by Governor
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