Overview

• Associate Justice Lourdes Ventura issued an emergency restraining order barring any work on dismantling the parking-protected bike lane until its July 23 appellate hearing.
• Transportation Alternatives and Williamsburg resident Baruch Herzfeld filed the appeal after a July 9 decision by a lower court allowed the lane’s removal to proceed.
• Mayor Eric Adams directed the Department of Transportation to replace the protected lane with a standard painted strip, citing video evidence of children struck by fast-moving bicycles and e-bikes.
• DOT testimony shows a 47 percent reduction in injuries on Bedford Avenue since the October 2024 installation, though critics argue that Haredi communities’ ambulance calls often go unreported.
• Over 300 cyclists have pledged to sue the city if injuries occur on the corridor and advocates warn that reverting to a less-protected design could expose New York to Vision Zero legal liability.