Community Boards

At the end of its second meeting on a DOT proposal to improve bike safety on the Manhattan approaches to the Queensboro Bridge, the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 6 reached a conclusion. The committee needed more time to make up its mind.

There is nothing exceptional or interesting about the sight of cars parked in front of a New York City residence. But I'm running this dull photo anyway, because this is basically the same condition that has irritated some residents in downtown Manhattan neighborhoods about bike-share. Instead of cars going in between the traffic lane and the sidewalk in front of their building, it's a public bike station, and for some people -- specifically, the residents of 99 Bank Street -- the transition was so jarring they felt compelled to litigate.

Over the weekend, the first Citi Bike stations were installed. And before you could say, "the New York Post," NYC DOT put out a report today reviewing the extensive public planning process that informed hundreds of bike-share station siting decisions. The next time you see a story about a handful of people complaining about the placement of a bike-share station, remember all the thousands of New Yorkers who participated in this process.

Borough President Scott Stringer considers community boards "the first line of defense for Manhattan neighborhoods." But one name among his final round of appointments, announced yesterday, makes you wonder if Stringer believes Manhattan neighborhoods should be protected from reckless drivers.

Good news out of Brooklyn last night: After a community-driven process that started in 2011, Community Board 16 voted to support painted bike lanes and sharrows on 15 miles of Brownsville streets.

Last night, the transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 6 voted unanimously in favor of a new PARK Smart zone for Atlantic Avenue, Smith Street, and Court Street, and for a Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway segment connecting Van Brunt Street to Valentino Pier in Red Hook.

Last night, two community boards in Sunset Park and Manhattan's West Side voted to support bike lanes, bike parking and permanent pedestrian plazas. As a result, Sunset Park will be receiving shared lane markings on Fifth Avenue, the permanent reconstruction of a plaza at Ninth Avenue and 14th Street will move ahead, and bike lanes and on-street corrals are on track for the West Side of Manhattan.

Last night, Manhattan Community Board 7 signaled its support for an extension of the Columbus Avenue protected bike lane -- which currently runs one mile, from 96th to 77th Streets -- north to 110th Street and south to 69th Street [PDF]. The 26-11 vote (with one abstention) was a much wider margin than CB 7's 23-19-1 vote in favor of the initial Columbus Avenue bike lane segment back in 2010.

It's no secret that NYC community boards are highly protective of on-street parking, since their members seem more likely to be car owners than the population at large, but it was news to us that board chairs and district managers have free parking perks.