Eyes on the Street: NYPD Sanctions Bike Lane Blocking on Henry Street

Looks like Assembly member Joan Millman’s efforts to keep the Henry Street bike lane clear of cars belonging to church-going motorists yielded only a Pyrrhic, pre-primary day victory.

For those who are just tuning into this saga, Ink Lake blogger and Brooklyn Heights resident Peter Kaufman has been trying to get the 84th Precinct to stop allowing members of the First Presbyterian Church to park in the Henry Street bike lane on Sundays. In August, a phone call from Millman’s office to the 84th seemingly put a stop to the compact between church and police (a variety of informal arrangement that some city synagogues take advantage of as well).

Then Kaufman started to notice some backsliding, and finally this Sunday he saw several copies of the above notice attached to the fence in front of the church. Here’s his reaction:

Compromise? Church-goers, with the acquiescence of the police, will continue to be allowed to block the lane when they want, and now the congregants have it in writing.

I contacted Ms. Hudson [Millman’s chief of staff], who said she had not been informed of this apparent codification of the arrangement between the church and the police, wherein people attending church won’t be ticketed. She said she would bring this to the attention of the Assemblywoman, and would be contacting Captain DiPaolo of the 84th.

Here’s a shot from this past Sunday, of the cars of the poor congregants who would rather park in the bike lane than find a legal space or a lot.

Streetsblog’s phone calls to the 84th Precinct have yet to be returned.