Crosstown Upper East Side Bike Lanes Stump Community Board Again

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The city's wish to permanently install two crosstown bike lanes on the Upper East Side left a community board panel divided this week for a second time, further delaying a decision and frustrating transit advocates.

Staffers from the Department of Transportation joined Community Board 8's transportation committee on Wednesday to discuss the proposed lanes along East 61st and 62nd streets, where temporary lanes have already been in place since September.

It came a month after DOT first presented its plans to the board, triggering complaints about how the lanes would affect a nearby daycare, dialysis center and outdoor restaurant setups. The board deferred a vote on the lanes, asking DOT to come back after meeting with the concerned groups.

Wednesday night, DOT representatives showed revised plans for those three spots, adding curb space and dropoff areas and rerouting bike lanes away from the restaurants.

Again, however, the committee failed to advance a resolution to either support or oppose the bike lanes, amid divisions between supporters who said they would prevent more traffic deaths and opponents who said they would worsen congestion and inconvenience pedestrians.

"Stay the course, give us these lanes, give us our lives!" said Hindy Schachter, an Upper East Sider and self-proclaimed "senior citizen cyclist" whose husband was killed in a 2014 Central Park accident involving a biker.

Meanwhile, Julianne Bertagna, a neighbor who heads the nearby Treadwell Farm Historic District, said an "overwhelming majority" of her members were opposed to the lanes, citing already severe car traffic. (Bertagna disputed a DOT study finding they would not worsen congestion, saying it was unrepresentative since it was done during the pandemic.)

Skeptic Michele Birnbaum argued that the city was making life too hard on drivers, between congestion pricing and the loss of parking spaces through programs like outdoor dining.

"[The] car-driving community should not be tossed aside as though they were the cigarette smokers of yesteryear," she said.

A resolution to oppose the bike lanes was voted down with five in favor, seven opposing and two abstentions. A motion to approve the lanes was supported by seven members and opposed by five, with three abstaining — short of the majority required for the committee to adopt a position.

Community Board 8 may now consider the lanes at its April 21 full board meeting.

City officials have described the 61st and 62nd street lanes as key missing links that would connect to existing protected bike lanes on First and Second avenues, as well as Central Park, the East River Greenway and the Queensboro Bridge.

Safe streets advocates were flummoxed by the committee's deferral, arguing that the city should move ahead with installation regardless of the board's position. (The board has no power to stop the lanes, and DOT has said it intends to install them later this spring or summer.)

"Abolish Community Boards," Streetsblog reporter Julianne Cuba tweeted. "[It's] just such an awful process to get anything done in this city."

CB8 Transportation fails to get a majority vote supporting permanent protected bike lanes on 61st / 62nd. Resolution now goes the full CB. Very weird meeting. And disappointing.
— Paul Krikler (@PaulKrikler) April 8, 2021

Previous coverage:

• Plans For UES Crosstown Bike Lanes, Bridge Access Revealed
• Upper East Siders Sharply Divided Over Temporary Bike Lane
• 2 New Bike Lanes Coming To Upper East Side, City Says