The Court Street bike lane lives!
A Brooklyn Supreme Court judge tossed out a lawsuit against the protected bike lane on Monday, rejecting an attempt by a local business group to kill the street-safety project.
Justice Inga O'Neale dismissed the lawsuit by the Court Street Merchants Association, according to a court notice, though the full decision was not immediately posted.
Supporters were relieved that the parking-protected bike lane will stay in place, especially after a different judge in Queens recently ordered the city rip out a half-done cycling path in that borough.
"That’s great news," said Peter Beadle, an attorney and safe-streets advocate.
The case could further bolster the Department of Transportation's long-established authority to implement street redesigns as long as it follows a rational process — even if some local interests oppose it, said Beadle, who declined additional speculation until he saw Judge O'Neale's ruling.
"Assuming it’s written the way I expect it is — with that caveat — it certainly strengthens the DOT’s position," Beadle said. "The streets are for the DOT to manage and they have the discretion to manage them as long as it follows a rational basis."
A similar lawsuit against the protected bike lanes on 31st Street in Astoria last year led to a judge ordering the city to rip it out due to missing paperwork, but Mayor Mamdani filed an appeal within days of taking office, and made DOT file the remaining documentation.
On Court Street, the Merchants Association sued DOT last fall, claiming that the agency's project would hurt businesses and schools along the corridor.
Unlike the Astoria case where the bike lane was only partially done, the Brooklyn suit came as the agency had largely completed its work.
DOT implemented a road diet, cutting the street's layout from two driving lanes to one between Schermerhorn Street and Hamilton Avenue, while adding a new offset parking lane and a protected bike path along the eastern curb.
The business group – backed by longtime local businesses including a hardware store, a café, and a vintage shop — wanted DOT to downgrade the redesign to an unprotected bike lane for more "maneuverability," but a lawyer for the city warned that could bring back the rampant double-parking that plagued the strip before the overhaul.
The concerns by the opponents also did not reflect the reality of how most people got to Court Street. Nearly three-quarters of people DOT surveyed along the busy corridor last year got there on foot, while 64 percent said they took the subway or bus, according to data the agency filed in court. More than a fifth of respondents (22 percent) said they rode a bike or a Citi Bike to get to Court.
Only 18 percent of people got to the street in cars, including people using rideshare services and carpooling, meaning that more people biked to get there than drove even before there was a safe cycling path to do so.
DOT spokesman Vin Barone said the agency will review the judge's order once it's issued.
A lawyer for the merchants association did not respond for comment.
This is a breaking story. Check back soon.
