FDNY Commissioner sells out smokeeaters, gives green light to bike lanes in Astoria

 

StreetsblogNYC 

The heat is on.

The Fire Department actually really does support the city’s expansion of protected bike lanes, the agency’s commissioner said on Monday — a revelation that shouldn’t be newsworthy at all, but for the fact that several FDNY rank-and-file as well as a key chief have recently criticized the life-saving street designs that the city has been implementing for decades.

“We are a life-saving agency, it’s our mission – our core mission, to save lives – and we appreciate the fact that bike lanes put people in a safer place and they save lives,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore testified at a Council budget oversight hearing on Monday. “The Fire Department has no problem with bike lanes.”

Bonsignore noted that there are some situations where “maneuvering around them are an issue,” but added that they work with the Department of Transportation to resolve those conflicts.

The FDNY has become a central player in street redesign fights, despite the fact that DOT consults with the agency experts and gives area firehouses a chance to weigh in on projects.

Opponents of bike lanes often claim that the safety infrastructure impedes emergency response — the opposite is true — and often find support from individual firefighters or the FDNY union.

Indeed, some smokeaters and their union bosses showed up en masse and in uniform to protest the 31st Street redesign in Astoria, Queens last month after a Supreme Court judge paused that overhaul because DOT allegedly did not get the proper paperwork to indicate that the agency had consulted with local firefighters.

And at a bizarre Council hearing in February, Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods, a 36-year veteran of the department, rattled off bikelash talking points – while senior DOT officials sat right next to him – claiming without evidence that protected bike lanes hobble first responders and adding the agency was against protected cycle paths.

 DOT’s bike lanes are, in fact, wide enough to serve as a clear emergency lane free of cars – vehicles that are the actual impediment to fast response times, as Streetsblog has previously reported:

 

Chief Woods walked back his stance on protected bike lanes after Streetsblog flagged them with the press office. But later, Council Member Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn Heights) wrote to Bonsignore to confirm that the agency was not obstructing DOT projects.

Woods also told Streetsblog at the time that he does not tell first responders to use bike lanes for faster access to a fire or other emergency, but the below video indicates otherwise. 

 

The agency did not say whether Woods or other rogue agents in the Department have faced any discipline for using their bonafides to rail against city safety policy. In fact, an agency spokesperson suggested that Bonsignore’s comments and Woods’s previous remarks were aligned.

At the Monday hearing, Restler also asked Bonsignore to commit to giving DOT feedback within 30 days, barring extraordinary circumstances, so as not to add to the already extensive bureaucracy lawmakers have dumped on the agency, which delays any bike or bus project exceeding three blocks.

The Firefighter-in-Chief declined to do so, but said the agency would do its “very very best.”

“Sometimes it’s not only the process, it’s not only the Fire Department I would say that slows things down, it may be something a more complex thing that needs to be reviewed, it takes a little longer,” Bonsignore said. “But we certainly will commit that we’ll do our best to get them a timely response.”

Never mind the fact that Department of Transalt are painting these bike lanes in defiance of a court order. I guess Lily wants more work for the EMT's to do.

Of course you know, this means that this is the third municipality to be regulatory captured by these insidious car xenophobic and e-micromobility violence enabling lobbyists

Apologies for posting a Streetsblog story. Everyone keep your head on a swivel outside and remember to close the door.

Update:

 

 

Update

The new bike lane just got christened with it's first crash. Congrats Lily, now you're another one who doesn't know shit about the streets, just like Transportation Alternatives

31st Street Bike Lane is not even a week old and we have our first accident. Even with a protected lane a cyclist and scooter collide. We need Pricilla’s Law now! @nyc_evsa @Shebbie4nyc @AFineBlogger @EricsRambles @ImpunityCity @queens_parents @JoannAriola32 @SpeakerMenin pic.twitter.com/siZ8ILb73c

— Maria G. (@mariagardenia22) June 4, 2026

Mayor Adams approves pedestrian path on Queensbridge for the few people that walk on it

 

 AMNY

City officials told amNewYork on Tuesday that cyclists and pedestrians will finally have their own lanes on the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge, ending a years-long controversy that had the two groups sharing a narrow path on the vehicle-heavy span.

Starting May 18, the north outer roadway of the Queensboro Bridge will be used exclusively for cyclists, and the south outer roadway, which is currently a vehicle lane, will become a dedicated space for pedestrians. 

The Queensboro Bridge, which connects Queens to Midtown, is the only city-owned bridge above the East River without separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists. Currently, the north outer roadway of the bridge is a shared space that crushes both pedestrians and cyclists together in a tight, 11-foot lane.

Advocates (aka lobbyists) have fought to open a separate pedestrian path, citing dangerous overcrowding that has led to conflicts among cyclists, pedestrians and micromobility users. Manhattan Community Board 6 even passed a resolution in October calling on the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to open the path without delay and “without regard to delays of construction,” which was being done on the bridge’s upper level last  year. 

However, once the south outer roadway opens for foot traffic, the bridge’s pedestrian and cycling space will double while eliminating space for vehicles. 

he new pathway was supposed to open sooner but Mayor Eric Adams, at first, delayed the celebration to ensure he and his team were fully briefed, and the new layout did not negatively impact traffic, a City Hall spokesperson explained. 

The double-decker Queensboro Bridge was built in 1909. Adams cited the span’s history by saying it has connected New Yorkers between Manhattan and Queens for 100 years while offering “breathtaking views” of the cityscape. 

“Now, our administration will make it even easier and safer to do so,” Mayor Adams said. “The more we make it safe to walk and bike, the more people utilize their bikes, and thanks to new cycling infrastructure in communities near the bridge, more and more pedestrians and cyclists are utilizing the Queensboro Bridge. Today’s announcement doubling the space available for pedestrians and cyclists builds off those upgrades and is a win-win for everyday New Yorkers.”

City of Lithium-Ion

 

Crain's New York 

The city is giving landlords the ability to generate some extra cash by installing outdoor battery charging stations in front of their buildings and charge a fee for bikers to access the amenity. 

 The Department of Transportation on Monday launched an application process for building owners to install e-bike battery charging and swapping cabinets on public sidewalks outside of their properties. 

The idea is for landlords, or their ground-floor retailers, to offer tenants and the delivery workers most city eateries rely on, greater access to outdoor e-bike battery charging, instead of risking lithium-ion batteries sparking deadly fires inside businesses and apartments.

 In 2024, lithium-ion batteries ignited 279 fires and killed six people, FDNY data shows. The fires are tied to the city’s delivery economy boom and its workers’ reliance on inexpensive, uncertified electric bikes and mopeds. DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement that the effort seeks to make safe charging infrastructure more accessible to curb fire safety concerns, while giving private property owners the perk of monetizing public space to better serve their tenants. “We need to do our part to ensure charging is safe and accessible,” said Rodriguez. 

 Building owners can charge bikers a fee to access the cabinets, but the Transportation Department hasn’t worked out potential restrictions for such fees, according to the agency. One e-bike cabinet company, the Berlin-based Swobbee, that the city is partnering with to add the infrastructure on sidewalks says it plans to charge a maximum of $2 a day for an unlimited number of battery swaps.

  A landlord or ground-floor tenant in a building with an eatery, shop or community space, or with five or more apartments, can apply for permission to bolt the skinny, vending-machine size metal cabinets to the sidewalk, which are lined with lockers that store and juice up batteries. Building owners interested in applying can contact DOT to obtain a permit at revocableconsents@dot.nyc.gov.

DOT will build new bike lanes for friends of Transportation Alternatives in Ridgewood

 

Streetsblog

Protected bike lanes and built-out sidewalks are coming to Cypress Avenue to provide a safe connection to Highland Park on the Brooklyn-Queens border, where traffic going to and from the Jackie Robinson Parkway currently reigns.

The Department of Transportation plans to set up a two-way cycle path protected from traffic by jersey barriers along with new sidewalks between Cooper Avenue and Cypress Hills Street, according to a design presented to the local community board in June. The upgrades mean people on foot or bike won't need to dodge traffic coming off and on the Jackie Robinson Parkway to get to the park and nearby cemeteries, said one local advocate.

"This is like a win-win," said Bree Mobley, a volunteer organizer with Ridgewood Riders, a cycling group that has pushed for the upgrades for years. "Let’s make it happen, let’s get park access in the neighborhood."

Cypress Avenue is a steep, wide and busy thoroughfare sandwiched between cemeteries and full of heavy traffic from the nearby highway. Those dangerous conditions make it hard for people to get to Highland Park from Ridgewood and Bushwick, even though it's only a mile away, Mobley said.

"It’s not for the faint of heart," the safe streets advocate said. "People are zooming by you, 30-40 miles per hour. They don’t care, they’re just trying to get to the highway and get there as fast as they can."

The intersection of Cypress and Cooper avenues in particular is a well-known danger zone with a history of crashes.

Ridgewood Rides and advocates with Transportation Alternatives have gathered nearly 1,000 online signatures in support of safer access to the park. 

  They are crowing about a non story that they dropped the ball on 2 months ago. And they’re too dumb to notice that the map DOT provided is wrong. Also enjoyed the comment by Transportation Alternatives ally H2O that they think they’re going to get both a bus stop and Citibike station there.

And that map from the proposal is completely incorrect. There is NO protected bike lane along the Jackie. It's a shared sidewalk for cyclists and pedestrians. Internal park paths should not be portrayed as protected bike lanes as there are no vehicles to mix with.

 

 There's also no sidewalk north of the Jackie, the cemeteries are not required to install them. So DOT is installing one, but most people who walk to Highland approach from the other way.Vermont Place sidewalk improvements would be welcome, but there still are like 4 on/off ramps for peds to cross to get to the reservoir entrance where these jerks want to divert the bus.

 

As for the H20 ally who posted this comment that got the traffic light wrong (de facto stewards in the area?), his name is Peter Frishauf, an Upper West Side millionaire donor to transportation alternatives and streetspac who practically ordered the DOT to reimagine a street with planters, paint and rocks that usurped parking spaces and mocked and 84-year-old woman who got arrested for protesting against it.

CONFIRMED: The woman has been arrested. pic.twitter.com/6HsLzsWtCv

— Streetsblog New York (@StreetsblogNYC) October 16, 2023

One more thing

 The department of transportation alternatives own data shows protected bike lanes don't really protect anyone. Especially cyclists. 

 

DOT held pop-ups to pass Paseo Park funding

 

 Queens Chronicle

Want to be a part of planning the future of Paseo Park, the 26-block stretch of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights that has been transformed into a combination of limited-access roadway and car-free pedestrian plaza?

You’ve got your chance, at pop-up events being held by the Alliance for Paseo Park, which advocates for turning the hybrid corridor into a permanent linear park.

The next event is set for tonight, Aug. 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the corner of 34th Avenue and 86th Street. Following that is one on Sunday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon at the corner with 79th Street, next to the farmer’s market. Then there will be one Tuesday, Aug. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the corner with 89th Street — that event will be held in Spanish.

More outreach is planned, including workshops that will be held by the city Department of Transportation, which led the first event on June 18. The DOT retains jurisdiction over 34th Avenue, though it coordinates with the Parks Department in places where programming and operations might overlap.

The transformation of the corridor began as an Open Streets project in the spring of 2020. Running 1.3 miles from 69th Street to Junction Boulevard, Paseo Park is the largest and most successful open street in the city, according to the Alliance. The city has allocated $88 million to transforming it.

“We are working on improvements to the existing design that will further enhance the quality of this public open space and the overall Open Street,” the DOT told the Chronicle via email. “We will monitor such upgrades and use them to inform the capital design.”

The Alliance uses more enthusiastic language.

“I grew up in this neighborhood without access to green space,” Luz Maria Mercado, the group’s board chair, said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the public engagement series. “I could only peek through the gates of the private co-op gardens. Green spaces should be for everyone. It’s crucial that we, as a community, lead this, by gathering as much feedback as possible from our neighbors, reaching every corner of our diverse community with a multi-lingual, multi-level approach.”

Jackson Heights has very little park space, and further transforming 34th Avenue would give it up to 7.5 acres, the group says.

The Alliance also recognizes that not everyone is on board with its dreams.

“We are committed to working together and building consensus with our neighbors, including those who may not share our vision,” Executive Director Dawn Siff said in her statement accompanying the announcement. “We believe good design can solve many people’s legitimate concerns and together we can create a space that prioritizes the safety, health and enjoyment of our community.”

Siff says turnout has been great at the Alliance’s events, as people are drawn in by the group’s bright green tent and large, interactive map — as well as coloring pages set out for the children.

“Most importantly, we are having more in-depth conversations with our neighbors and giving space to hear people’s ideas, hopes, questions and concerns,” she said in an email to the Chronicle.

Siff said that overwhelmingly, people are excited, with many wanting the avenue to be a park with green space and shade. Some are concerned that the existing layout is confusing and causes conflict among different users, such as pedestrians, bicyclists and kids on scooters. She noted that the design is temporary. There also are safety concerns because cars, mopeds and motorcycles still speed through even though the space is not supposed to be used as a through street anymore.

Usually at the DOT fake workshops with the public, they would have a half dozen interpreters to translate for them, so will this Spanish one have an English interpreter so locals who can make this one can know what's going on and what's being said? 

They really want this 88 million dollars, which I think a chunk of it is going to Dawn's buddies WXY. 

“The conversations are overwhelmingly positive, reflecting what we see each day, with the constant use of Paseo Park/34th Avenue for recreation, exercise, gathering, safe commuting and more,” Siff said, reiterating her belief that good design can address valid concerns people have. “This is why we’ve engaged WXY, to help surface these concerns and make recommendations about how they can be addressed.”

WXY Architecture + Urban Design is a firm dedicated to community-driven processes for planning public spaces.

 

Motorcycle mayhem terrorizes residents at the 34th ave open streets in Jackson Heights

Not much has been written about what a disaster these open streets have turned into and it's easy to see why. Council member Shekar Krishnan held a sham town hall about this and it mostly was about preserving the open streets than stopping the "traffic violence" that goes on there every day and night.

The Department of Transportation Alternatives is holding a survey for these dangerous open streets tonight in the hopes they will get 88 million dollars to turn those 25 blocks into an official fake park.

Hey Queens! Take our survey to help inform the future capital project vision of the 34th Ave Open Street: https://t.co/syQg96QBGu (closes Friday 6/21) and join us for a design workshop:

When: Tomorrow June 18, 5-7PM
Where: 34th Ave between 79th St and 80th St pic.twitter.com/QOqlZIV1lH

— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) June 17, 2024

Scooter pollution coming to town

 

AMNY

 New York City is set to expand its e-scooter share pilot program to several neighborhoods in eastern Queens this summer, three years after launching the program in the Bronx with the aim of expanding micro-mobility to new corners of the five boroughs.

The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) exclusively told amNewYork Metro that the expansion of the pilot, announced last year, will commence at the end of June across four community boards in eastern Queens, all of which are in reaches of the city with relatively limited access to the subway.

The pilot will extend from Flushing and Auburndale in the north, past Kissena Park through Fresh Meadows and Hillcrest, passing through Jamaica, Briarwood, and Hollis, and reaching down to St. Albans, Rochdale Village, and Springfield Gardens just north of John F. Kennedy Airport. The pilot area will cover about 20 square miles.

The expansion comes after three years of operation in the eastern Bronx, where 3.8 million trips have been logged by 157,000 unique users, DOT says. All three scooter companies participating in the Bronx pilot — Lime, Veo, and Bird — will join the pilot’s expansion in Queens.

“We are very excited for this summer’s arrival of e-scooter sharing in Eastern Queens following our successful East Bronx pilot, where nearly 4 million rides have been taken since August 2021,” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “This expansion is an equitable way to bring a popular, safe, and environmentally sustainable mode of transportation to underserved neighborhoods in Queens, and we look forward to continuing our work with these communities as e-scooter share expands.”

 Here is where all these scooters are going to wind up abandoned. These neighborhoods have plenty of modes for transportation, the only thing that's sustainable about them is to sustain the bankrupt Bird which is run by former Transporation Alternatives CEO Paul Steely White. Like Johnny Cash sang, guess things just happen that way.

 

The DOT's spite delineators

 

 Queens Chronicle

When a loyal reader wrote us about new posts clogging up traffic crossing Queens Boulevard where 83rd and Hoover avenues meet, above, the Chronicle went to the scene.

The posts are set too far into the street, the resident wrote, preventing cars headed straight across the boulevard from going around those that have to stop to make a left. Thus traffic on 83rd Avenue, second photo, is getting backed up all the way to Kew Gardens Road, making things more dangerous for children going to PS 99 [see Letters to the Editor].

The delineators, which are popping up all over, are meant to protect pedestrians and calm traffic. But the ones on the boulevard at 83rd and Hoover take up space that had been actively used by cars, and the writer suggested the city Department of Transportation go back to the drawing board.

Then on Tuesday morning as the snow fell, at least one motorist drove right over the crosswalk to get around them — right in front of the courthouse, no less.

Shown the top photo, a city Department of Transportation spokesman said via email, “Last year New York City had the second fewest pedestrian fatalities on record thanks to street improvements that prioritize safety. Anyone who drives in a crosswalk or other pedestrian space should be ashamed and held accountable for endangering others.”

 

Donnie Richards and the Department Of Transportation Alternatives has open plans show for streets in Jamaica

 

QNS 

 Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., in collaboration with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and other stakeholders, is hosting an open house in Jamaica Monday to provide the community with an opportunity to help shape the plans for a $70 million investment in downtown Jamaica.

The open house, called NOW Design Strategy and Streetscape Plan, will take place at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, located at 153-10 Jamaica Ave., at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 8. The DOT will present its overarching plans for the streetscape improvements for the commercial strip.

The study area, bounded by Jamaica Avenue to the north, Merrick Boulevard to the west, Archer Avenue to the south, and Sutphin Boulevard to the east, will be the focus of potential projects. These projects include sidewalk widening, the addition of more seating, new trees and plantings, improved lighting, pop-up programming, and other open space amenities designed to enhance the pedestrian experience.

Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. emphasized the importance of community involvement in the plan.

“The potential that Jamaica offers is limitless, but there is so much work to be done to help this community realize its promise as New York City’s premiere live, work, and play neighborhood. This is work that must be done with the residents of Jamaica at the head of the table, however, and I look forward to hearing from our neighbors about what streetscape improvements they would like to see on their block.”

The open house is part of the broader Jamaica Neighborhood Plan, a collaborative effort involving the Mayor’s Office, Richards, the DOT, NYC Department of City Planning, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Member Nantasha Williams. This initiative aims to stimulate significant job growth and the creation of permanently affordable housing in downtown Jamaica, a vital commercial and transit hub within New York City.

Did I say Open Plans? Yes because Donnie is literally quoting word for word the well moneyed lobby's legisaltion influence agenda and talking points. The video above is actually a taste of what the DOT wants to do to the "public realm" of downtown Jamaica, which is to steal public parking spaces. They claim that building more plaza space is good for businesses, but Target and Walgreens decided to close shop after years of constant shoplifting.

We're not gonna take the DOT anymore

 

I don't know about you but IMO this has Transportation Alternatives Jim Burke's lizard fingers and powerwashed teeth all over this. Don't want to leave the insidious presence of Open Plans out of it too, especially with their personal parking space xenophobe founder Mark Gorton's opinions of New Yorkers as pigs who own their own cars.

Restaurant shanties hit with lawsuit again

 

AMNY

New York City has been hit with a class action lawsuit seeking to overturn its newly permanent outdoor dining program, with petitioners claiming the popular al fresco eateries are an unconstitutional nuisance.

The suit, filed against the city in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday by 30 New York City residents, claims the recently-enacted permanent outdoor dining program — which replaced the temporary, emergency-authorized program that began during the COVID-19 pandemic — is illegal for not having been subject to a full environmental impact review and public comment.

That allowed the city to enact what the petitioners describe as a “massive change to the cityscape that defines New Yor[k] City” that is “highly destructive to city neighborhoods and the petitioners who reside in them.”

Before the pandemic, outdoor dining was only allowed in a few areas of the city, mostly in Manhattan, and was subject to a long, bureaucratic and expensive approval process. Soon after COVID-19 struck the city and forced restaurants to shut their doors, city officials used emergency powers to significantly liberalize permitting for outdoor dining, allowing thousands of eateries the chance to reopen for customers to dine in and greatly expanding the scope of al fresco eating. Many built elaborate shacks on the sidewalk or roadway for dining.

City officials and restaurant industry reps have claimed the outdoor dining program saved 100,000 restaurant industry jobs and kept innumerable eateries from having to close. Pandemic-era polls showed the program to be broadly popular with New Yorkers; a December 2020 poll by Siena College and Transportation Alternatives found 64% of voters, including 78% of Manhattan voters, found outdoor dining a valuable use of curb space.

Still, others were less than enthused from the beginning. Critics of outdoor dining have contended that dining sheds take away parking spots, attract rats and other vermin, are havens for homeless New Yorkers and crime, and bring noisy crowds to their blocks for all-night revelry.

“This saturation of outdoor seating is not serving me, my family, or my business. It has made this neighborhood pretty much unlivable most of the time,” said Ellen Koenigsberg, a Lower East Side resident who owns a vintage clothing shop and is a petitioner in the class-action suit, in an affidavit. “I feel like I always have uninvited guests in my apartment that just will not leave.”

Others are perturbed by what they contend are “ugly” dining sheds.

“They mostly look like large, dirty garages and disrupt and change the nature of the street,” said fellow Lower East Side resident and petitioner Elizabeth Dworkin. “It feels like a fort has been built on the block to keep the local residents away so paying customers and bars, clubs, and restaurants can occupy all of the public space.”

This claim about how these shanties saved 100,000 jobs is highly dubious, until you consider that probably over half of them were waiters on wheels from all those bike deliveries during the pandemic.

 

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