Opponents Sue City Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane

Opponents of the Prospect Park West bike lane have filed a lawsuit against the city in relation to the project, according to the New York City Law Department. The suit, which has been threatened for a month, was filed at the end of the day today in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Download it here.

The bulk of the legal complaint is dedicated to attacking the Prospect Park West bike lane and the behavior of the DOT, with section headings like “The Ultimate Oxymoron: DOT’s Campaign to Justify the EBL As A ‘Traffic Calming’ Measure.”

The complaint spends pages cataloguing disrespectful things said by bike lane supporters in online comment sections, including in Streetsblog’s comments section, and ominously noting that “at least one DOT official is registered as “friends” with pro-bike-lane lobbyists on social media sites.”

The more strictly legal argument shows up at the end of the complaint and takes three main tacks. 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.

We’ll have more on the lawsuit tomorrow. Read it yourselves and let us know what you think in the comments.