The Brooklyn Heights Bike War – Promenade Edition

By on October 19, 2010 10:40 pm in News

With the hullabaloo over church goers parking in the Henry Street bike lane on Sundays about to prove Godwin’s Law, it’s time to shine a light on the far more pernicious and rampant law breaking by bicyclists, skaters and other scofflaws in Brooklyn Heights.  Yes folks, BIKES ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THE PROMENADE.  Neither are ROLLER SKATES, SCOOTERS AND SKATEBOARDS.  As Mrs. Fink, Baby Fink and I were lounging on the Promenade Sunday afternoon, we noticed scores of people breaking this rule.  You don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows here — reckless bikers and skaters on the Brookyn Heights Promenade are a much bigger threat to public safety than a few parishioners parking in the Henry Street bike lane for a few hours on Sundays.

*Full disclosure – I am a new member of First Presbyterian Church but that has no bearing on my position regarding the bike lane “controversy.”

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  • T.K. Small

    @BPK, there is no handicap parking in Brooklyn Heights. What is issued to people like me, who have a documented and verifiable medical condition, is a parking permit which allows me to park in certain areas. Frequently on Sundays and around religious holidays, the spaces I generally use on Pierrepont Street are all taken, and I end up parking down by Monro Place or Willow Street. Am I inconvenienced slightly? Yes, but I appreciate what the various religious organizations lend to our community, and their presence in the neighborhood far outweighs any temporary parking problem.

  • davoyager

    Everybody thinks they own the road and refuses to share. People are killed cause cars park in bike lanes. To my knowledge no one has ever been killed on the promenade by a bike. I think the laws we have need to be enforced; everything from cars honking their horns at the least cause to bikes who can’t be bothered to follow traffic laws. I think cars responsible for hitting bikes should be prosecuted as criminals, I think churches should pay taxes like the rest of us. Cars and trucks using our neighborhood as an off ramp for the highway should be banned, Big trucks should be banned. We need smaller cars and calmer drivers.This is a residential neighborhood. Ban speeding cars and crazy bikers. I used to ride a bike around here 35 years ago when I was a kid, It is so different today I would never ride a bike around the belligerent drivers we have today. The bike lanes are an attempt to change the culture here in NY but I’m not sure it’s going to work. People would rather get mad than make room for their fellow human beings. I feel sorry for my kids for the world they have to grow up in.

  • Reality is Here

    Simple fact is that this argument is not about bike lanes. It’s about prejudice. Prejudice against religion. Stop and don’t bother saying it’s not. You’re only kidding yourselves.

    Mr. Ink Lake is clearly not a religious or observant man.

    His anti-Christian rants are repugnant and I applaud this blogsite for “giving [him] grief about writing about the bike lane, so I didn’t post on here.”

    The brilliant Mr. TK Small, who is a humble and honest man, has made the most important comment in this entire thread. Regarding those who park in “handicapped” spaces he says “Am I inconvenienced slightly? Yes, but I appreciate what the various religious organizations lend to our community, and their presence in the neighborhood far outweighs any temporary parking problem.”

    Mr. Ink Lake shame on you and your self-centered over zealous and petty behavior. Worst of all you’ve created a malevolent mountain out of a minor molehill.

  • http://inklake.typepad.com PBK

    @TK,
    I know there are no handicapped spots per se in the Heights. But hypothetically, let’s say there were. Should people be able to flout the law prohibiting people without that placard parking in them based on the fact that they practice a particular religion? If so, which ones?

    @Reality,
    I really think you need to look up the words ‘prejudice, ‘self-centered’, and for that matter, ‘reality’.

  • Reality is Here

    I did and found a picture of you.

    God loves you and we all hope that you find love in your heart.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz80uV4t-W0

  • hot buttered pants

    Whoa. Easy now, fellas. Petty personal attacks only further distract from the issue at hand.

    I have steered clear of the bike-lane debate for some time now, as the arguments have become less and less germane to the original topic, which is whether or not the church should be allowed to use the Henry Street for parking on Sundays.

    Now, I am a bicyclist. Have been for a long time. I commute daily to work on my bike not as some green environmental statement, but simply because it gets me there quicker than other means. I wear a helmet without exception, use head and tail lights, and ride safely and legally. And I have faith that most other people in the traffic flow will behave safely and legally also.

    But many do not. So how about some common sense guidelines?

    1. Riding on the Promenade is dangerous for everybody. So is riding on sidewalks. Or riding against the stream on a one-way street. This makes our neighborhood streets less safe to walk, and offenders should be ticketed. No exceptions.

    2. That said, many of the offenders are hard-working delivery guys who are under pressure to make as many deliveries as quickly as possible. Fining the restaurants for violations might curb that a bit.

    3. The bike lanes on Henry and Clinton are traffic lanes meant to keep cyclists safe. Intentionally blocking them puts people at risk of injury. The fact that the debate involves a church is irrelevant. This truly is a simple point of safety. When the consequences of your actions endanger other people, you should find an alternative.

  • Arch Stanton

    @ ujh
    You wrote:
    “All places of worship have parking in front of their buildings on the day of worship”
    Not legally. All houses of worship have “No Parking Anytime” signs delineating their frontage. That is to provide vehicles a clear place to stop temporarily to pick up or discharge passengers i.e. “Stand” which means the driver must be in the vehicle. The signs do not say “Except Sunday” nor do they say “Except on church business” nor does it mean the church can decide who can park there for any length of time.

  • Arch Stanton

    @ Reality is Here:

    Reality is an individual perception. Your reality is not the same as others. it is not the same as mine…. thank god. Perception of the universal reality is unattainable. Your statement “Simple fact is that this argument is not about bike lanes. It’s about prejudice. Prejudice against religion” is ludicrous. You are not the knower of all and certainly cannot say where I’m coming from.
    On this issue, my reality could care less about the church itself. It could be any institution or entity that has vehicles illegally parking obstructing a bike lane.

  • Arch Stanton

    @ T.K. Small

    I can give you some perspective on the history of cycling in the Heights et al.

    First my qualifications:
    I am an avid cyclist. I ride for recreation and transportation. I have been riding on the streets of NYC since I was 10 (almost 40 years). Currently, I ride about 3 thousand miles a year. My longest ride in one day was 157 miles (2007). I have been in several bicycle accidents some caused by drivers, some caused by other bikers, one caused by a pedestrian and a couple caused by me. Having that much cycling experience has given me no fear whatsoever of riding on any street in any traffic condition at any time.

    I am a life long Heights resident. I learned to ride on these sidewalks and streets. Riding here was always relatively safe & easy. Although, when I was about 7, I was struck by a Key Food delivery bike that was traveling the wrong way on Columbia Heights.

    My commuting experience started when I attended high school on the Upper West Side. I used to frequently ride to school. Back In those days, riding the streets was very dangerous and not for the faint of heart… bike lanes were non-existent. Around the time I was 20 the city installed the first bike lanes. They were pretty much useless as most drivers completely ignored them and pedestrians used them as de facto sidewalk extensions… after a few years they simply faded away. In the past decade or so, the bike lanes made a comeback, better marked, better enforced and progressively, more heavily used. In 2008 I was working on the UWS and once again commuted up there. What a huge difference, as I was able to ride on the west side greenway and make the entire trip almost traffic free.

    Personally, I do not “need” bike lanes as I grew up without them. However, the lanes do make riding faster, easier and safer. They enable new riders and those less bold to now enjoy this excellent mode of transportation. The lanes are an asset to the city as they reduce pollution and traffic. However, as with any change in the infrastructure, there is going to be a learning curve. It will take many years to come to work out the details and perfect the balance between cars, bikes and pedestrians.

  • nabeguy
  • Arch Stanton

    Yes nabe, I think rude dangerous bikers should be ticked too. As far as the delivery bikers, that situation is way out of hand. The other night while it was raining, I was driving around looking for a parking spot. whilst crossing Hicks at Remsen a delivery bike going the wrong way on Hicks, crossed right in front of me. I almost hit him because I was looking for cars coming from the other direction… he was also wearing a black poncho and did not have a light… Darwin award wannabe.

  • nabeguy

    Peace Arch. That popped up on Gmist today and it seemed relevant to the discussion. As you can see, I posted it with no commentary and more as an FYI. Truth be told, I’m getting tired of this argument, especially in light of all the other issues swirling around the city. I admit to being something of a bomb-thrower, but that’s done more in the spirit of encouraging dialogue rather than stifling it. I’ve fought many battles on this blog, but have always held my adversaries in the highest regard, as acerbic as my comments may be.. In fact, I actually shook hands with Carlo Trigiano tonight at Tutt Cafe and, as anyone familiar with the history between us could tell you, that’s not a small step.

  • my2cents

    Wow Nabeguy, was Jimmy Carter there to broker that?

  • davoyager

    Oh sure, Carlo gets the big press. I shake your hand all the time but do I get any mention?
    I guess it’s who you know that you know when you know.

  • nabeguy

    Sorry, da, no slight intended. In fact, your position on Dock Street was much more salient, as you’re a born and raised Height-zer. If I had known that at the time, things might have been different. I’d much prefer to shake hands than lock horns.

  • T.K. Small

    And now everyone can sing “Kumbayah”.

  • nabeguy

    No, my2, but I may put Sammy up for a Nobel Prize. His tabouleh could be the answer to world peace.

  • http://hotmail zapster

    You all seem to missing the point! Not only do those cars park in the bike lane, what is most offensive is that they park halfway up on the sidewalk, creating single lane pedestrian traffic. Good luck with those double wide strollers! Furthermore they damage and crack the sidewalk. I would be furious if I owned the apt. building and would have to re-do my sidewalk every couple of years. What about the new stream of bikers who ride up and down Joralemon street on the sidewalk @ hicks street to access the new fangled park?? And, have you seen the City Garbage bins on Hicks/Joralemon at the end of the weekend? A new, overflowing dumping ground.

  • biker

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,…”

    What happened to that? I forgot: Life is not fair.

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