Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane, advocates charged Wednesday on the heels of a judge’s ruling to allow the mayor to remove the safety treatment installed just months ago by his own administration.
"This all but guarantees that there will be blood on Eric Adams’ hands," said Ben Furnas, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, in a statement after the ruling by Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo, who sided with the city's decision to remove a bike lane that NYPD stats show has led to a reduction in injuries on Bedford Avenue safer.
The mayor "wants to make Bedford Avenue more dangerous for everyone walking, biking and driving along the street," Furnas said.
Walker-Diallo of Kings County Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit from Transportation Alternatives and local father Baruch Herzfeld, who's son rides the bike lane to his middle school.
Adams last month announced that the city would remove the protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue from Willoughby Avenue to Flushing Avenue after powerful leaders in the Hasidic community complained that the bike lane made the street unsafe for children getting on and off school buses.
But for cyclists, the protected bike lane represents a safe haven on an otherwise dangerous street.
"I am saddened about the news. Biking on Bedford was so much safer than it has ever been," said local resident and cyclist Alex Feldman. "There have been so many car deaths and yet it’s the cyclists who are the problem."
Bedford Avenue is a "Vision Zero Priority Corridor," and is in the top 10 percent of most dangerous streets in Brooklyn, according to DOT.
Feldman said the decision by Adams is clear political pandering.
"It makes sense for the Adams administration — criminals that don’t care about what is best for New Yorkers and are willing do pull whatever crass stunt for his upcoming mayoral beg," he said. "Adams would return the Statue of Liberty if it meant he’d get one vote. Can’t wait for him to get the boot."
Another neighborhood cyclist, Bridget Barry, told Streetsblog that the news is "incredibly distressing," and echoed the concerns about certain groups having outsized influence over City Hall's policymaking.
"Such an obviously politically motivated move by Adams to pander to a large voting block prior to November," Barry said in an email. "The problem was never the bike lane, it was the lack of public outreach/campaign to the community on how to keep safe on the streets. There are no dual infrastructures, each community must coexist among the fabric of New York City."
Shocked Bedford Avenue cyclists react
Streetsblog visited the very blocks in question on Wednesday right after the judge's ruling. Two-wheeler after two-wheeler jeered the mayor's decision.
"That fucking sucks, you just ruined my day!” said Caroline, who declined to give her last name but told Streetsblog she commutes by bike daily. "That actually breaks my heart — we can’t even afford cars right now."
Another cyclist, who called the protected bike lane a "lifesaver," said he did not want to go back to the old chaotic Bedford Avenue.
“Bedford Avenue was a deathtrap before this bike lane, because cars would constantly double park in the bike lane, forcing you out into traffic," said Trevor Kellogg, who also described himself as daily cyclist.
"You’d be a fool to ride on Bedford Avenue before this bike lane," Kellogg said. "Ever since the bike lane has been here, I ride it everyday and it’s much safer.”
The cyclists Streetsblog spoke to all blamed Adams for the removal of the lane.
“He should listen to cyclists. This bike lane is saving lives,” said Kellogg.
“I’d like [Mayor Adams] to consider bikers. We pay taxes too, so it’s not fair to not consider us,” said bike commuter Christina De Miguel.
One cyclist was even wearing a custom-made Zohran Mamdani jersey in support of the Democratic Party's nominee for the mayor's job.
"We need [Eric Adams] gone and need real bike lanes,” said Dan Fig. “[Zohran’s] not in the pocket of anyone so he can do things that actually help real New Yorkers.”
Pro-bike lane pols fight back
The decision to add a protected bike lane to a part of the corridor that has had a painted, unprotected bike lane since the Bloomberg-era, had the support of the area's local Council members and community boards.
Council Member Chi Ossé (D-Bed Stuy), who pushed publicly for the protected bike lane's completion, called out Adams's "broken promises" in a post on social media.
"The Mayor's broken promises and continual assault on street safety are unacceptable. When tragedy inevitably strikes, Eric Adams will be to blame. The end of his term could not come soon enough," Ossé posted on X.
Council Member Lincoln Restler (D-Williamsburg), who represents the area where the bike lane could be removed, is also angry with the judge's ruling.
Restler, who wrote the law that Transportation Atlernatives and Hertzfeld said prohibited the removal of a bike lane without proper community notification, said the judge mis-represented the intent of the rule he passed into law.
Like most Brooklyn judges, Walker-Diallo is a denizen of the anti-bike Brooklyn Democratic Party machine and has made political donations to Frank Seddio, the lawyer for the bike lane opponents in the case.
Rather than recusing herself, though, Walker-Diallo ruled that the change from protected lane to unprotected lane did not qualify as a "major transportation project" under Restler's law. She agreed with DOT that ripping up the redesign was a mere "modification."
'That's horseshit," Restler told Streetsblog of the argument. "[The DOT] is sending every cyclist on Bedford Avenue back into traffic, that is the Department of Transportation's policy. Everybody knows protected bike lanes make streets safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike."
To Restler, who won his primary election last month with the support of local Hasidic groups, the ruling is less about the situation on Bedford Avenue, and more about Mayor Adams's political priorities ahead of November's mayoral election.
"This feels like a political ruling rather than one based on the merits," Restler said. "The Department of Transportation determined that notification was necessary for the installation of this bike lane. The only reason that they didn't notify the community about its removal was because the mayor wanted it to happen as quickly as possible because that's what suited his political agenda."
Additional reporting by Dave Colon, Yoshi Omi-Jarrett and Matthew Sage
