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.”

NYC Department Of TransAlt greenway follies

 

Queens Chronicle

The city’s Department of Transportation is temporarily postponing a virtual Zoom workshop scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 29, on the proposed 16-mile Queens Waterfront Greenway after a meeting in Douglaston last Thursday, Oct. 24, turned into a huge shouting match between supporters of the trail and homeowners concerned about its potential impact.

The DOT posted the announcement on X Monday evening at around 6 p.m.

“Tomorrow’s Queens Waterfront Greenway virtual workshop has been postponed,” the post said. “A code of conduct will be developed to ensure decorum and respect for all participants.”

Last Thursday’s meeting took place at the Alley Pond Environmental Center. After a slide presentation by the DOT, the crowd of well over 100 people was split up into breakout groups. Just about an hour after the meeting started, what had been strained conversations erupted into a large verbal free-for-all that raged for several minutes.

In a small handful of instances, city employees and other meeting attendees had to physically separate some people.

The city’s plan is to run a trail of bike lanes and other amenities between Fort Totten and Gantry Plaza State Park on the East River waterfront in Long Island City.

Last Thursday’s meeting was the third of three workshops designed to solicit public opinion on a segment of the trail, with the session devoted to the easternmost stretch between Fort Totten and Willets Point.

Many homeowners are concerned about the impact such a trail might have on residential streets in areas where the shoreline is not readily accessible or even visible because of privately owned residential or industrial properties.

The DOT’s roughly 20-minute slide presentation delved into the history of the area in question, its present conditions and what the city sees as potential opportunities presented by the project.

The crowd then was asked to break up into groups at many tables where DOT staff took suggestions based on massive maps of Northeast Queens.

The format is common for community workshops on major projects in the city, particularly ones that could mean massive change to many streets. But it was not long before several of the group conversations devolved into heated exchanges between homeowners and plan supporters. One hour into the meeting, at just about 7 p.m., no conversations could be heard above the angry exchanges for a period of several minutes.

 

 

Here's what the Queens Chronicle forgot to write about, CM Paladino found out that the ones really calling the shots and that will authorize this "decorum" is some think tank that is tied to Transportation Alternatives. The DOT may be the most corrupted agency in New York City now that all of Mayor Adams crony hires have stepped down.

Turns out Public Works Partners LLC is a for-profit progressive/urbanist think tank specialising in crafting these fake 'public events' in order to manufacture consent. They list the DOT as one of their clients, but they also speak in depth about all the work they do aiding… pic.twitter.com/0UH7jKC1rt

— Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (@VickieforNYC) October 29, 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.

 

City moving forward with congestion tax cameras despite multiple lawsuits

 

NY Post

Big Brother will soon be watching Big Apple highways – sparking concerns about a future toll.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has begun installing camera equipment on New York highways to prepare to monitor a controversial $15 congestion toll to enter Manhattan’s central business district south of 60th Street as early as May, The Post has learned.

License plate readers have been attached to a pedestrian walkway above FDR Drive at East 25th Street that will be used to track vehicles that go into the toll congestion zone or stay on the highway.

The sensors are being installed on Route 9A/the West Side Highway for the same purpose, the MTA confirmed.

Both highways are excluded from the toll under state law.

But motorists who drive along the FDR Drive are worried that the equipment erected there is a fig leaf that the MTA could eventually use to charge tolls on the state highway.

The state Legislature would have to amend the law to expand the congestion toll to other locations.

 

“It’s the old game of `bait and switch’. Wanna bet that after a year, the MTA will go to the state legislature and say they need more money and the best way to get it is to put the congestion pricing toll on the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway?” one source who noticed the new detection equipment said.

“You can hear the MTA bureaucrats already saying that it’ll be easy because `we already have the equipment in place. As soon as you give us the green light, the bucks will just start flowing in.'”

The source, who requested anonymity added, “You can’t trust the MTA.”

Agencies that oversee the FDR passed the buck on who signed off on installing the sensors.

A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation — responsible for the FDR Drive’s upkeep — said it does not own the pedestrian walkway at 25th Street and urged The Post to check with the city DOT.

A city DOT spokesperson then urged The Post to contact “the MTA regarding the toll reading infrastructure.”

“It’s amazing to see the MTA turn into the MI6 spy agency when it comes to screwing drivers but it can’t even make a turnstile to prevent subway fare beating,” quipped Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island).

Borelli was also concerned about the MTA going to the legislature in the future to expand the congestion zone to include toll-free highways.

“The legislature expanded speed cameras in the city when it was still a pilot program. The legislature can expand the congestion toll to wherever they want,” Borelli said.