When your day is done and you wanna ride on [without getting forced into traffic], cocaine.
Officers with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration are again parking cars in the bike lane on 10th Avenue, returning like junkies seeking a fix even after the city tore up and repaved the roadway earlier this month.
On Monday, with fresh pavement practically still warm, DEA agents' cars still filled the curbside lane between 16th and 17th streets even though it was clearly marked as a bike lane. The cars blocked safe travel for cyclists, forcing them into traffic and close to passing cars. (And it's worth noting that three of the cars that were illegally parked in the bike lane have a combined 27 camera-issued tickets for reckless driving, meaning that when they're not parked, those cars are also causing a danger to the public.)
The last time we caught the bike lane filled with illegally parked Drug Enforcement Administration agents' cars, we protested by smoking a marijuana cigarette outside DEA headquarters.
This time, Streetsblog protested by snorting the Devil's dandruff right next to the illegally parked cars for an unforgettable video (which was deleted from YouTube for allegedly violating community standards):
After Streetsblog had previously reported the DEA seizure of the bike lane, City Council Member Erik Bottcher pressured both the Department of Transportation and the DEA to end the stalemate, but when neither did, we ramped up our coverage with the doobie of protest.
Perhaps that once-illicit act shamed the DOT into action: Within days of our joint video, the agency ripped up the pavement on 10th Avenue, a process known as milling. Two weeks later and the pavement was back, this time with a temporary bike lane indicated, as Streetsblog noticed on Sunday:
And hours later, the roadway was again filled up with DEA cars, prompting our inhalation of the bugger sugar:
DEA officers are not alone in blocking bike lanes, of course, but bike lane blockers are rarely punished or held accountable by the NYPD, as Streetsblog has long reported. Only 2 percent of bike lane blockers ever get a ticket.
It is unclear why the city is allowing federal agents to block a bike lane both before and after the city repaved the roadway and restored the lane. The federal government has not, of late, been a great supporter of New York City, what with the Trump administration blocking creation of a bus lane, pulling funds from key infrastructure projects and an anti-terrorism grant to the MTA, and suing to stop congestion pricing.
The DOT did not responded to multiple requests for comment about the illegal parking in the public right of way, but exceptionally polite DEA spokesman Kenneth Heino did respond late on Tuesday to say that there had been at least one meeting with DOT and a resolution is coming soon. We'll see.
Until then, Streetsblog is pondering what drugs I will consume in protest next week. Suggestions? Please use the comments below.
