Mayor Zohran Mamdani has introduced that the town will restart the method to revamp thirty first Avenue in Astoria one month after a Queens choose ordered the Division of Transportation to halt plans for a protected bike lane alongside a one-mile stretch of the road.
Mamdani introduced the transfer on Jan. 7, describing thirty first Avenue as one of the crucial harmful corridors in Queens. He stated the choice to restart the redesign course of and adjust to a ruling issued by Queens Supreme Court docket Decide Chereé Buggs represented the “fastest path” to delivering “critical safety upgrades” alongside the hall.
The Mamdani administration added that the New York Metropolis Legislation Division can even file a discover of enchantment of the court docket’s ruling.
Mamdani, as an Assemblymember representing Astoria within the thirty sixth District, was a part of a cohort of elected officers who proposed the Western Queens Avenue Security Plan, which known as for a protected bike lane beneath the elevated N/W subway tracks alongside a mile-long stretch of thirty first Avenue from thirty sixth Avenue to Newtown Avenue.
The DOT’s plans for a thirty first Avenue redesign included plans to scale back transferring lanes and parking lanes by three and 5 ft, respectively, to make manner for 8-foot-wide protected bike lanes on all sides of the hall. Advocates stated the plan would considerably enhance road security alongside the hall, pointing to 2 fatalities and 11 severe accidents that occurred on thirty first Avenue between 2020 and 2024.
Renderings for proposed bike lanes alongside thirty first Avenue in comparison with the present structure of the hall. Courtesy of the DOT
Buggs, nonetheless, sided with numerous native companies and residents who had filed swimsuit towards the town, arguing that plans for a protected bike lane have been rushed and offered a hazard for pedestrians and motorists alongside thirty first Avenue.
In her December ruling, she ordered the DOT to halt plans for the road redesign, additionally ordering the company to revive the roadway to its unique design after a bit of the protected bike lane was put in on one aspect of thirty first Avenue between thirty first Avenue and Broadway over the summer time.
A coalition of native companies and residents sued the town shortly after that work started in August, accusing the DOT of violating correct procedures by failing to correctly have interaction with the local people about their issues.
Buggs sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that the DOT had did not adjust to obligatory session and certification necessities with companies such because the Division of Small Enterprise Companies (SBS) and the Mayor’s Workplace for Individuals with Disabilities.
Buggs additionally cited issues raised by the FDNY after the Hearth Division knowledgeable the DOT in July that the road redesign wouldn’t allow it to function at “full capacity.” The Hearth Division additional warned that the implementation of the redesign would “negatively impact FDNY emergency response and fireground operations, delaying Fire Department personnel and their resources for fire suppression.”
Buggs additional dominated that the DOT’s response to issues raised by St. Demetrios Faculty, a Greek-American faculty positioned at 30-03 thirtieth Drive, was “insufficient.”
Faculty representatives had said that the proposed bike lanes would run immediately by way of drop-off and pick-up zones utilized by mother and father and college students, including that the bike lanes would create “unacceptable risks.”
Mamdani acknowledged that Buggs had taken situation with how the DOT had beforehand accomplished a legally required Necessary Transportation Mission (MTP) course of concerning the thirty first Avenue redesign. He introduced that the company intends to start the MTP course of once more in compliance with the court docket’s resolution.
Mamdani additionally described thirty first Avenue as a hall that’s unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, including that he frequently prevented utilizing the hall when he lived within the neighborhood.
“I love being in Astoria — walking through it, biking across it and driving from one end to the other,” Mamdani stated in an announcement. “But when I can, I avoid doing so on 31st Street because it isn’t safe for pedestrians, cyclists or drivers. Enough is enough. My administration is restarting the 31st Street Redesign because New Yorkers shouldn’t be forced to go out of their way because our roads are too dangerous.”
DOT Fee Mike Flynn described thirty first Avenue as one of the crucial harmful corridors in Queens and stated there may be an pressing have to make the hall safer.
“We have a proven safety-focused design solution, and it will be implemented as quickly as possible. Since 2020, there have been two traffic deaths and 190 injuries along this corridor—and that is unacceptable,” Flynn stated in an announcement.
Flynn confirmed that the town is starting the legally required obligatory consultations essential to restart the undertaking, in addition to submitting a discover of enchantment of the court docket’s resolution.
The thirty first Avenue Enterprise Affiliation, a group of native companies that joined the lawsuit towards the road redesign final yr, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The group beforehand described the thirty first Avenue redesign a “dangerous plan that would have made our streets and community less safe.”
The group had constantly known as on the DOT to put in a motorcycle lane on a residential hall working parallel to thirty first Avenue comparable to thirty third Avenue, the place there are fewer storefronts and fewer visitors.
In an announcement issued final month, the group stated it stays dedicated to collaborating with the DOT to search out an applicable location for the protected bike lanes. In addition they accused the company of refusing earlier strategies.
“We are eager to participate in a genuinely collaborative process with DOT to improve street safety for everyone: including pedestrians, older adults, young children, people living with disabilities, public transit users, cyclists and motorists,” the thirty first Avenue Enterprise Affiliation stated in an announcement.
Affiliation President Joseph Mirabella beforehand claimed that the proposed bike lanes would negatively influence native companies whereas creating new questions of safety by putting in bike lanes by way of loading and supply zones alongside thirty first Avenue.
“We support cycling infrastructure,” Mirabella stated. “But given the nature of 31st Street with the amount of commercial loading zones and the subway running overhead, it makes no sense to do this here.”
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, Meeting Member Jessica González-Rojas and Council Member Tiffany Cabán, who labored on the Western Queens Avenue Security Plan with Mamdani in 2023, described the December ruling as “deeply dangerous” for native residents.
Cabán, in the meantime, stated the ruling “puts lives at risk” by eradicating plans for “proven safety measures.”
