Tomorrow: Speak Up for Safer Biking on Kent Ave

A tipster sends word that opponents of the Kent Avenue bike lane are making appeals to Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, a long-time supporter of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. A large group representing the Williamsburg Hasidic community showed up at Velazquez's office last week, our source tells us, to register their opposition to the bike lane, which is a precursor to the full build-out of the greenway.

Velazquez has played a big role in advancing the greenway, securing $14.6 million in federal funding for its construction. Staff members at her Brooklyn and DC offices were not available to confirm or comment on the bike lane opposition.

If it wasn't painfully obvious already, this can no longer be dismissed as your typical bike lane flap. To counter the opposition and show support for critical safety improvements, be sure to show up tomorrow at the full Community Board 1 meeting about the bike lane (211 Ainslie Street; sign up before 6:15 p.m. to speak). And if you haven't signed on yet to Transportation Alternatives' e-fax campaign, now is the time. More direct, in-person appeals will certainly be necessary, and we'll keep you posted about organized actions going forward.

Want to work the phones a little this afternoon? Check here for contacts at Velazquez's Brooklyn office, and here for City Council members Yassky and Reyna. They need to hear from constituents who don't want to see Kent Avenue take a step backward toward the dangerous bad old days: