Mamdani Says He’ll Back DOT Against Bikelash in W. 72nd St. Safety Revamp

Mayor Mamdani on Thursday defended the street safety redesign of W. 72nd Street against opposition from a tiny cohort of residents that claims the design is radical even though it been successfully deployed across the city for nearly 20 years.

Mamdani said projects like the incoming protected bike lanes and bus upgrades on the crosstown corridor are part and parcel of his promise to let the Department of Transportation make the Big Apple’s streets the “envy of the world.” And Hizzoner specifically rejected his predecessor’s strategy of bowing to car-first special interests in the name of so-called community feedback.

“I support my DOT across proposals across the five boroughs,” Mamdani said in response to a question by Streetsblog, which had asked about former Mayor Eric Adams’s stall-and-cancel approach.

“I want this to be a city where New Yorkers live and where others come and visit, and they appreciate the ways in which we’ve made it easier to get around this city,” the mayor added. “And so that is the directive I’ve given. I think the proposals that our DOT continues to put forward across the five boroughs are ones that help to realize that.”

DOT plans to replace a lane of car traffic in each direction with a two-way protected bike path and bus boarding island on the key Upper West Side crosstown thoroughfare, starting as soon as this summer.

The West Side revamp extends from Central Park West to Riverside Boulevard and connects to the Hudson River Greenway – the busiest bike path in the nation – via W. 68th Street, according to designs the agency revealed last month.

That stretch ranks among the top 10 percent for crashes in Manhattan, injuring a whopping 115 people over five years – more than two a month. Seniors account for one in five of those maimed, which is more than double the borough-wide average, according to DOT stats.

The agency plans to unveil another proposal for protected bike lanes on E. 72nd this fall, thereby answering the demands of the local community boards for safe crosstown lanes to end the carnage on the roads.

A group of business owners on the strip showed up to a Community Board 7 meeting last month to poo-poo the project, offering no evidence that the bike lane will hurt their bottom line.

The notion that “business will suffer” is a common refrain – debunked again and again – that arrives like an express train whenever the city tries to reclaim space from private motor vehicles for people. DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn even called it one of the biggest “misconceptions” about transportation in the city, and that it’s often the business owners who drive there and park out front.

“It just remains this thing that so many businesses instinctively seem to feel. I don’t know if it’s because, maybe, business owners tend to commute by car more,” Flynn said on DOT’s in-house podcast. “You even sometimes see things like the business owners are the ones parking in front and feeding the meter.”

There have also been concerns from some about the increase of electrified micromobility, or that the revamp will impede the area’s large population of senior citizens.

Opponents of the projects have been organizing against the proposed changes under the banner “No 72nd Street Bike Lane Coalition” starting with a rally earlier this month. However, counter-protesters also showed up to support the bike lane. Backers also staged a community bike ride in support last weekend.

“We believe the mayor should first stand by and protect his constituents, especially the elderly, disabled, and very young,” Sara, a spokesperson for the No 72nd Street Bike Lane Coalition who did not provide a last name, said in an email to Streetsblog. “[The bike lanes] would put these vulnerable populations at great risk when disembarking from the bus or just crossing the street.”

It is unclear why the group believes that. Protected bike lanes have shown to improve safety for everyone, reducing deaths and serious injuries by 18 percent, according to DOT. They’re even more effective at cutting pedestrian deaths and serious injuries, which decreased by more than 29 percent overall and 39 percent among seniors, the agency has found.

The opposing coalition also claimed that the redesign would “severely impact deliveries,” but DOT plans to expand parking meters and loading zones to encourage more commercial turnover, as opposed to letting people hog the curb with personal car storage.

Local advocates said that the safety upgrades are long overdue, and will provide a test for the new administration to stand up for its designs that have proven to save lives.

“It’s great to hear the mayor say that he supports the DOT because this project on 72nd Street is the kind of basic safety upgrade that should have happened decades ago,” said Carl Mahaney, director of StreetopiaUWS (which shares a parent company with Streetsblog). “We’ve been really encouraged how this DOT and the current mayor are handling these projects.”

Mamdani said the changes tie into his larger vision to make it safer and easier to get around the city ahead of the upcoming soccer mega-event, such as the recently announced plan that DOT will revive a dormant Adams-era redesign to widen the busy bike lanes on Sixth Avenue in Midtown this spring.

“We’re also looking to make a number of investments in our street infrastructure that will be ready in time for the tournament, but will also lasts for weeks and months and years to come,” the mayor said.

Opponents of street safety will rally several times early next month to champion the status quo on the Upper West Side, first by protesting outside the Transportation Alternatives annual fundraiser, set for June 1. The group has also promised to show up at the CB7 full board hearing over the design on June 2 at the Thalia Theater.

For information about these and other exciting events around town, check the Streetsblog calendar.