Council Member Tiffany Cabán joined a lot of transit advocacy teams in Astoria Tuesday evening to protest in opposition to a Queens Supreme Court docket ruling ordering the Division of Transportation to halt plans for a protected bike lane alongside thirty first Avenue.
Cabán joined representatives from Transportation Options (TA), Households for Secure Streets and NYC Bike and Brew Dec. 9 for an emergency rally and protest experience, ending with a “die-in” protest on the mile-long stretch of thirty first Avenue that had been earmarked for a protected bike lane.
Picture courtesy of Transportation Options
Protesters forged their bikes onto the road on the finish of the protest experience and lay on the concrete floor to simulate dying and spotlight the risks that cyclists face alongside the hall.
Picture courtesy of Transportation Options
Others spray-painted crimson chalk outlines on the pavement to focus on issues of safety for cyclists on thirty first Avenue.
Picture courtesy of Transportation Options
In line with DOT information, there have been nearly 200 accidents alongside the stretch of thirty first Avenue coated by the road security undertaking within the final 5 years. The company had referred to as for protected bike lanes on each side of thirty first Avenue from Newtown Avenue to thirty sixth Avenue in a bid to enhance avenue security alongside the hall, pointing to 2 fatalities and 11 severe accidents that befell between 2020 and 2024.
Nevertheless, Queens Supreme Court docket Justice Chereé Buggs ordered the company to halt its plans for the protected bike lane in a ruling problem Dec. 5, moreover ordering the DOT to take away a bit of the bike lane that it had put in between thirty first Avenue and Broadway inside 30 days.
Buggs sided with the thirty first Avenue Enterprise Affiliation and different native resident who filed a lawsuit in opposition to the DOT, arguing that the bike lanes would negatively affect native companies, forestall emergency companies from responding to emergencies and endanger kids on the St. Demetrios Greek-American Faculty, who’re often dropped off alongside the deliberate bike lane route.
Faculty representatives had said that the proposed bike lanes would run instantly by means of drop-off and pick-up zones utilized by dad and mom and college students, including that the bike lanes would create “unacceptable risks.” Buggs dominated that the DOT’s response to these issues was “insufficient.”
Buggs additionally cited issues raised by the FDNY after the Fireplace Division knowledgeable the DOT in July that the road redesign wouldn’t allow it to function at “full capacity.”
Nevertheless, a lot of transit advocates gathered at Astoria’s Athens Sq. Park Dec. 9 to protest the ruling, expressing issues that the ruling would threaten highway security whereas additionally setting a authorized precedent that will undermine future tasks.
Protesters additionally carried placards arguing that cyclists carry enterprise to the area people, responding to issues raised by native companies {that a} bike lane would negatively affect foot visitors.
Transportation Options Government Director Ben Furnas argued that there’s a “crisis” in Queens concerning security for cyclists, including that the town wants “every tool at its disposal.”
“Removing life-saving improvements now could undermine decades of legal precedent affirming the City’s authority to redesign streets for safety,” Furnas stated in a press release. “We’ve a disaster in Queens, and the Metropolis wants each software at its disposal to avoid wasting lives and forestall crashes.
“We won’t back down until the street safety project is finished and protected on 31st Street and every New Yorker across the five boroughs has the safe streets we deserve.”
Julie Huntington, a member of Households for Secure Streets whose father Kim was killed by a truck driver whereas biking in 2019, stated she was advocating for “life-saving traffic measures” in order that no household must endure as she did.
“My dad, Kim Huntington, was senselessly killed by a reckless truck driver in 2019,” Huntington stated. “I bear the pain of his loss every day. I was also hit by a car on this very street by a southbound motorist making a left turn on 31st Street from 31st Avenue.”
Huntington’s father was killed by falling particles after an illegally over-height business truck sheared off the underdressing of a bridge development undertaking.
Cabán, alternatively, stated Buggs’ ruling “puts lives at risk” by slashing “proven safety measures.” Cabán, together with Meeting Member Jessica González-Rojas, State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, had outlined the Western Queens Avenue Security Plan in 2023, which included plans for a protected bike lane alongside thirty first avenue.
“This project would save lives,” Cabán stated in a press release. “It would make our neighborhood safer for every person who walks, bikes, takes the bus, or drives. Astoria has waited too long for basic protections. My office will continue to fight for street safety on 31st Street and every street.”
Picture courtesy of Transportation Options
“This ruling is profoundly disappointing and deeply dangerous for our community,” González-Rojas stated in a press release. “I look forward to working with the City, local businesses, and residents to find a path forward that prioritizes safety for everyone.”
Nevertheless, a lot of native residents additionally celebrated the ruling, together with the thirty first Avenue Enterprise Affiliation, which held a rally earlier on Dec. 9 welcoming the choice.
Affiliation President Joseph Mirabella described the judgment as a win for native residents and companies, additionally describing the ruling as a “victory for commonsense.”
Mirabella accused the DOT of creating “unilateral, ill-advised” selections that affect the area people. He referred to as for “true collaboration” between the DOT and the area people going ahead.
He added that the affiliation had requested the DOT to implement different measures to make the hall safer for all highway customers, stating that the affiliation had requested the company to put in extra pace cameras and scale back the highway’s pace restrict to twenty mph. He stated the affiliation didn’t obtain an ample response from the DOT.
Buggs famous the allegations in her Dec. 5 ruling.
The group has additionally requested the DOT to put in a protected bike lane on a residential hall working parallel to thirty first Avenue equivalent to thirty third Avenue, the place there are fewer storefronts and fewer visitors, Mirabella added.
Council Member Joann Ariola, minority chief of the NYC Council Republican Delegation and chair of the Council Committee on Fireplace and Emergency Administration, said that the road security plan didn’t adhere to Native Regulation 6, which mandates that the DOT should seek the advice of with native firehouses earlier than implementing avenue design modifications.
Ariola stated Native Regulation 6 had helped defend native residents and make sure that emergency companies may do their jobs.
“The DOT did not comply with the law as written, which meant that had to go to local firehouses and do outreach and get input from those firehouses,” Ariola stated.
Individually, Richard Khuzami, president of the Outdated Astoria Neighborhood Affiliation (OANA), stated the group agreed with the decide’s ruling solely as a result of plans for a protected bike lane did “not go for enough to ensure safety and functionality.”
He stated OANA had lobbied the DOT for a full set of security components, together with visitors controls, loading zones, enforcement and pedestrian protections if the company was going to put in a motorcycle lane on thirty first Avenue. The neighborhood group had additionally lobbied the DOT for a delegated faculty security zone in entrance of St. Demetrios, Khuzami added.
“A bike lane must be done correctly or not at all,” Khuzami stated. “From the start, our primary concern has been the lack of proper traffic controls for all users. Any redesign of 31st Street should include timed signals and dedicated phases that recognize how pedestrians, automobiles and bike-lane users actually move..”
He added {that a} north-south bike route already exists on Crescent Avenue, stating that this affords the DOT time to create a complete plan for thirty first Avenue.
Buggs’ determination was not a ruling in opposition to bike lanes, Khuzami stated, however a recognition that the planning course of was “incomplete.”
“We see it as an opportunity to reset and produce a comprehensive plan. If DOT returns with a proposal that addresses traffic flow, timed and dedicated signals for all users, realistic loading access, a school safety zone at St. Demetrios and consistent enforcement, then it can improve 31st Street for everyone.”
