Skillman and 50th Street (Photo: QueensPost)
July 12, 2018 By Christian Murray
Mayor Bill de Blasio has ordered the DOT to move forward with its controversial plan to redesign Skillman and 43rd Avenues.
The mayor’s approval of the plan, which comes with protected bicycle lanes and the loss of 116 parking spaces, undermines Community Board 2 and several elected officials who have announced their opposition to it.
“The DOT has listened to voices across the community,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter. “I have instructed them to move forward with pedestrian safety and protected bike lanes to save lives.”
The mayor added that there have been 300 injuries on the two avenues, citing 2012-2016 DOT data. He noted that there have been two deaths.
The DOT tweeted shortly after de Blasio’s statement that it plans to begin construction this summer.
Nearly 300 people have been injured along Skillman and 43rd Avenues in Queens. 2 lives have been lost.
@NYC_DOT has listened to voices across the community. I’ve instructed them to move forward with pedestrian safety and protected bike lanes that will save lives. #VisionZero pic.twitter.com/uFu4pb5CtJ— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 12, 2018
The announcement comes after months of heated debate since the DOT revealed in November that it planned to remove 158 parking spaces on Skillman and 43rd Avenues to make way for protected bicycle lanes.
Scores of business owners on both corridors opposed the plan arguing that it would hurt their bottom lines because customers would struggle to find parking, and many residents claimed that parking is difficult in Sunnyside as it is—without taking additional spots.
After a groundswell of opposition, the DOT tweaked the plan. In June, it put forward its final plan calling for the elimination of about 116 parking spaces—including a total of 51 spaces on Skillman and 43rd Avenue from 39th Street to Roosevelt Avenue– and the construction of protected bicycle lanes.
The final plan was not only rejected by the Community Board by a vote of 28 to 7 but Congressman Joseph Crowley, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer said they opposed it.
Van Bramer, who called for protected bicycle lanes after the death of Gelacio Reyes at the corner of 39th Street and 43rd Avenue in 2017, said when he rejected the plan that it “failed to gain enough support among residents, community institutions, elected officials and Community Board 2.”
However, Van Bramer said at the time that he still supported a protected bicycle lane on 43rd Avenue. “I continue to believe a protected bike lane would make this street safer.”
Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group that actively supported the plan, thanked the mayor for moving ahead with it.
“The plan for Skillman and 43rd Avenues is based on tried and true design standards, and was developed after several rounds of community engagement. This plan is going to save lives, and we commend Mayor Bill de Blasio for putting the safety of New Yorkers ahead of preserving a handful of parking spaces,” the organization said in a statement.
Meanwhile, QueensStreets–a local group comprised of business owners, school representatives and religious institutions–expressed outrage about the de Blasio’s decision. “We are distressed that the mayor would call to move forward on his DOT proposal — publicly opposed by our Councilman, Community Board, Congressman and Assemblywoman.”
Meanwhile, Van Bramer said today that he respected the mayor’s decision.
And while there remain concerns among business owners and some residents about the plan, I respect the Mayor’s decision.
— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) July 12, 2018
“I’ve always said that I support bike lanes and that I support protected bike lanes. There is no question in my mind that this proposal will make 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave safer. And while there remain concerns among business owners and some residents about the plan, I respect the Mayor’s decision.
“As the local elected official, I’ll work with the Department of Transportation and the Mayor’s office to see that the plan is implemented with the least amount of inconvenience as possible and will monitor its progress and its effect on small businesses.”
DOT: Skillman Ave 43rd Ave June 2018 by Queens Post on Scribd
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317 Comments
Pedestrian islands are a disaster in the snow. No one is in charge of clearing them. I don’t why the city hasn’t fixed this problem yet. This new plan is an improvements for bicycles, but what about pedestrians? None of this will improve pedestrian safety.
This is great news. Protected bike lanes will increase the health of the community by promoting biking and cut down on subway overcrowding. I do feel for people who drive and have to find parking. Whenever friends with cars visit me they park on the streets between Woodside Ave and 39 Ave, behind Windmuller Park and always seem to find a spot.
That’s where I live. I used to be able to find a spot in front of my house pretty much all the time. Now, about 40% of the time if it is during the day. At night, about 20% of the time. The other times I circle the same five or six blocks and hope someone miraculously moves just as I am pulling up. You can’t afford to drive around the block if you see one on the other side now. You must move quickly but safely to make a U-turn no matter how many cars will be angry and start honking. It regularly gets pretty hairy if we are getting close to one or the other rush hours. Through traffic has no mercy on the local parker.
I wish I had Friends. Im lonly.
Make Sunnyside Great Again !
I can hardly wait until Skillman Ave finally becomes the vision of Saigon that all the Progressives want to make it. It will be so nice to see families riding 4 a piece on scooters and mopeds…….Karachi is such a beautiful place….you can
even defecate on the sidewalk….DiBlasio also favors this…
Gary How bout weds nites for crossdressing bike riders ? Maybe bingo and free coffee? That would fill the cafe…..your such a great guy and adovocate! JVB can take his usual table in the back
crossdressing bike riders? Giuliani usually takes a taxi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IrE6FMpai8
Just to be clear and honest…the Sunnyside Post censors comments it finds objectionable which is inherently biased!
J Murray, what does oppression feel like? Praying for you.
Hey Sunnyside, if you can’t beat em, join em. Here is how old and young people in Seville, Spain are adapting to their expanding bike network: http://www.streetfilms.org/how-seville-got-its-bicycle-network/
That was a beautiful piece of propaganda by a known Bike Warrior, Clarence Eckerson. Has anyone made an effort to find out what other people think? How does Seville compare to NY in terms of population and area? The film said something along the lines of people don’t bike to get anywhere, but to exercise and socialize. That’s fine. That doesn’t seem to be the reason NYC has for putting bikes in. So, how useful is it to compare Seville and NYC?
I don’t really ride my bike for transportation purposes and I don’t own a car so I usually take the LIRR. I’m not that opinionated about this plan. What I do care about is the fact that our politicians and local lobbyists are such sell outs.
1. VanBramer was undecided about the plan. Then he was yes no maybe so. Then he was against. Then he respects the Mayors decision. NOW, he’s kissing ass to the Bike Lane lobbyists on Twitter, taking credit for the plan. Was the fix in this whole time?
2. Ocasio, who I made phone calls and voted for, did not come out to support the bikes plan specifically. She said she was open. It’s so sad seeing her get involved with the local Transportation Alternates lobbying group.
What is the aim of this so-called lobbying group?
They are getting paid off by big bicycle — schwinn, huffy, even radio flyers wagons are involved. This thing goes all the way to the top. It’s a vast conspiracy.
What a fool you are!
Well said about our so-called councilman.
Sunnyside voters need to remember DiBlasio’s actions regarding the Sunnyside residents at the next election in case his wife runs for Mayor or DiBlasio wants another political office. Unfortunately, voters have short memories and the politicians count on that. ( Look what happened with increasing term limits where the City Council voted themselves to continue for an additional term, despite two different voting times when NYC voters said NO. Van Bramer is in his third term because of the rule. If he and other city council people really cared about what the voters have said, he would not have voted for the extension of term limits and had the option not to run for the third term. A year later, people forgot how this happened and voted them all back into office, including Bloomberg.
It’s just a bike lane, it’s not a big deal.
It is a big deal to us, Casey. It is a big deal to us. We have a very different perspective from yours. Why don’t you just accept that and stop trying to minimize what we think is a very big deal. We have diligently gone through the democratic process and been summarily dismissed by an over reaching political class. We do not like being shooed away like irritating children at the adult table.
It’s the definition of not a big deal. It’s shifting a bike lane over, and you will lose a few spots on a block here and there. If they were trying to put an airport on 43rd Street, or run a new highway through the neighborhood — that’s a big deal. This is silly.
Can’t help but laugh at all the “outrage” over a handful of parking spot
Are you serious? I drive to and from work every day. I don’t bike and don’t take the subway. According to the above map, the only four or so blocks I would ever even consider parking will lose a TOTAL of 4 spots. It’s going to be fine. It will improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians alike. Take a breath.
Start a goFundMe for a memorial to commemorate the loss of 4 parking spaces. we must not forget this great tragety. Blessings
The only 4 blocks, YOU would consider parking on. It’s more than just YOU
I see. Sounds like it’s more about YOU than THEM. Mmmmm, do I smell bacon?
there was nobody running again JVB that is how he won — so stop with this.
There was one, ONE fool that ran against JVB and he had no chance whatsoever.
Get nice and comfy in your “victory” that was stolen. It’s just a matter of time before you have to go through registration, following the traffic laws strictly, being fined ect. Your days of behaving like this Mayors little cupcakes will end, and you’ll be held as accountable as us evil car owners. Enjoy.
That’s the best ya got?
Disdain is a very unattractive quality.
I doubt it.
Face it! The majority of new folks around here are younger renters who move after a couple of years. No one cares about the “older” residents who are not happy about this. This is being done to please the new and future younger residents/voters who ride bikes or pretend they do to sound more environmentally friendly.
Hooray! Thank goodness they’re listening to us instead of residents who care only about themselves and their ability to park their cars.
Old people love complaining. The mayor could give everyone a free turkey and they’d say it was too small.
Young people love touting their own horns. Too bad they don’t realize they are foolish enough to think they know something. They only parrot what they are told. Actual knowledge doesn’t accrue until much later in life, and then there are a new crop of idiots telling you they know more than you do.
Oh my God you are so right, too bad you are going to croak soon… Now I get it you hate bikes because they were the latest greatest thing and you were too old to even attempt ride one
Come up with your own screen name. A little originality.
What are you talking about?
The evil you put out will haunt you for decades.
Which part is the evil–the jerks crowing about their victory or the ones who lost some of their power and are angry about it?
The jerks, of course. People who have worked hard all their lives to have some comfort in the older years are being mauled by young jerks who don’t know that they evil they do now will come back a few decades from now and injure them. Having a car doesn’t make you powerful, it means you have a useful tool.No one attacked the bikers until they came and declared war on cars. We were just defending ourselves.
Jack up their rent and wipe the smug smile off their face.
I own so that’s perfect for me. I second the notion 🙂
Forgive the cyclists, for they know not what they do. But politicians? You can’t trust them. They’re nothing but liars and crooks. Van Bramer is the perfect example. He played both sides of the fence, on this one, without so much as a sign of a spine. “Personal interests” for Jimmy. We all know what side he was really on and he knew this was going to go through, no matter how the people voted. DiBlasio is another lying hypocrite. He points the finger at other politicians, while pulling the same thing that he accuses others of doing. I suppose he had to give us the illusion of democracy, rather than risk the ire of hard, working people who just want a place to park their cars and the local businesses and churches who are trying to bring people in. The mayoral office is a dictatorship, with the mayor and council”person” being the dicks involved. Maybe we can entertain the idea of trapeze rigging when the bike and scooter congestion AND accidents start to accumulate. God, I need a safe space!
DiBlasio, Van Bramer, all these politicians just care about their political careers and not the actual constituents. No surprise that Diblasio was going to ram this down our throats. He’s a fascist pig. Trotting that wife out, playing the race card. He’s a clown.
What the heck are you even going on about? Your true colors are showing! Now I understand what triggers you.
Funny how many of the anti-bike people can’t help but show their bigotry and homophobia when commenting.
Um, nope. So off base but you don’t know me do that’s okay. I’m anti- fascism, hypocrisy & narcissism.
The bike lobby must be pushing hard. Add Citibike and the DOT wanting more jobs, DiBlasio caved.
If you are against this, call and write. 212-788-3000. Fax 212-788-9711. http://www.nyc.gov. Let the city know this is important to you. Like another commenter said, we are not a lobby. We are residents who care about our neighborhood. Yes, I own a car and I use it to get around in the city. Maybe I will be spending less money in our city when I can no longer use my car.
Thank you. I have been calling 212-293-2292, and 211, and 718-282-4859. Also I have been going to http://www.newyork.com/bike/no-bike. and emailing. Also dial 300, then press *2.
This is pretty much the end of the world as we know it. I will no longer spend money. Nor will I leave my apartment. Consider this my final word on the subject.
THe bike lane is going to be shifted over a few feet. Lord help us all. I did not sign up for this! I am writing a letter to the pope asking for a prayer rally.
1 like = 1 prayer. Please share. Amen
What you got to do is dial 212 – 444 – 577 – 2888 – 662 – 994, * 88 then press pound. Then there will be no more scary bike lanes and we can all go back to smoking on our big cigars, if you catch my drift.wink
We’re getting Citibike in this neighborhood too? AWESOME! 😀
One day, a great rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets.
Agreed. These foaming at the mouth, anti-bike people are nutty!
car accidents are caused by cars going to and from somewhere… not necessarily from people in the area. the people in this area are being penalized. if they have cars … where will they park?
car services…uber, lyft etc have added 10’s of thousands of vehicles on the roads. if you limit the amount of these vehicles you will limit car accidents. local residents looking for parking spots creates more pollution, anxiety and frustration this causes more accidents.
with all the extra car services…uber, lyft etc. cars on the road and the poor road conditions…riding a bike is too dangerous… lets not forget that poor road conditions cause accidents too.
I try to go to new restaurants and businesses… if parking is too difficult.. i go elsewhere. most people do not live within walking distance of where they work. with rising real estate prices they are leaving these areas but come back to frequent their fave restaurants and local businesses… with less parking they will not come back a second time… these local businesses will suffer and the local residences will suffer.
this new policy benefits no one.
Yes, if you limit the amount of cars on the street you will have less accidents. No cars=No accidents!!!
Did I ever tell you the time back in the 80’s just after the transit strike when I was biking over the Brooklyn Bridge. A biker passed me and ran into a biker going the opposite way. No cars, no trucks, not even pedestrians, just the three of us. They weren’t going fast, just that their brains were going slower.
So, you saw a wreck over 30 years ago. Remember big cell phones and slap bracelets?
Fucking brilliant, no beaches or pools = no drowning, no airplanes = no plane crashes, no trains = no derailments. You’re a regular math wiz.
Your apartment may fill up with car fumes because the traffic will be permanently backed up on these avenues from the day the construction starts. You think traffic is bad on the avenues now? It will be worse if this goes forward. Stopped cars are the ones that emit the most fumes.
We will live in a smoggy dystopian mist from now on. Mark my words. Say goodbye to your loved ones. Farewell blue sky.
Cars piled up and abandoned. Our little tramps will keep warm by the eternal tire fire in front of Sunnyside Famous Pizza and Coffee shop. Brace yourselves
Call the Mayor’s Office. 212-788-3000. This is downright fascist.
Spend the money to fix Windmuller Park! Fix the giant potholes in the road! There are already bike lines that already work great. Don’t destroy our peace of mind. This will back up traffic in Sunnyside FOREVER.
FOREVER backed up!
Save us!
Great news. Much safer and businesses will be fine. More people will come to the shops on skillman and 43rd if it’s safer to ride bikes. We’ll see large groups stop for coffee and lunch. Just watch. Everyone else – rent a parking spot like others and stop complaining. There is a large lot on Barnett!!!! park on northern.
Park on Northern —where? Garages within a reasonable distance are hard to find to rent and expensive too, and even harder to find to buy. One sold near the Gardens for $80,000 cash recently. But don’t tell the Manhattanites. They’ll buy them all up.
Parking lot on Barnett has been full for at least 4 years. Get a clue.
Exactly.
So let me get this straight; in a city with the option of trains, subways, buses, cabs, Uber, Citi Bike, and BIKE LANES, you whining, entitled, privileged, pansies, are saying that it’s the car owners that are behaving badly over this? If you can’t handle living in a city why don’t you pack your crap and get out of it. Go buy a car, put a bike rack on the back and go ride leisurely through a park, rather than demand and tantrum that the city redesign itself to suit your fancy.
The story says most of the lost parking spots are on residential streets. Exactly how does the spur drop-by purchases? And where are ff-street rentable parking spots you advocate? Can buy coffee after paying for parking.
The parking guru Shoup always wanted to put a price on commercial parking but would never go against residential parking. This plan takes the worse of all changes.
If 116 people take your advice and buy a car tomorrow, then your parking situation will be affected the same as with this redesign. And I’d be willing to bet: 1. that you wouldn’t utter a word of complaint about these new people buying cars, and 2. you wouldn’t notice the difference to begin with.
And that’s not even getting into the safety aspect.
No change. When do we want it…..? Always. Man all we did was complain every time somebody wants to make a change to the neighborhood by modernizing it. No fair.
Was the same when they put in horse and buggy lanes.
From a cyclist:
How about a major protest to stop this madness in front of JVB’s office on Queens Blvd .
The bike lanes are now fine as is.
We need to protect our local business interests, not JVB’s.
JVB is all about himself not us.
He is looking for DeBlasio’s support for Queens Borough President.
TA has made substantial political donations to DeBlasio’s campaign.
Thus, DeBlasio supports all of TA’s initiatives.
JVB’s husband is on TA’s board. (he also supports tolls on the 59th Street Bridge)
This all adds up to us (the local majority) being screwed.
It is time to stand up and be counted.
Socialism (not the silent majority) now prevails.
Very scary.
If you think Socialism is a threat, then you surely must hate Social Security, toll-free bridges and roads, the police and fire department, public education and other ‘social’ programs and services that help our society run, right?
To Safety:
You are a moron
@Safety is more important than parking: No one can live on Social Security alone and its bankrupt.
They were screaming SS would go bankrupt when I was in my twenties. That’s decades ago now. Scare tactics.
The taxpayer is paying for what you said is free. You socialists just don’t get it.
I get it. I’d much rather have my taxes used for the free programs and services I mentioned than for huge corporate handouts in the form of tax breaks and never-ending wars.
Do you have any data to support your “silent majority” claim?
This is the thing going on that you think deserves major protest?
Channel your energy somewhere else.
I agree flood his facebook page with your complainants. Her will come running with his P**Y hat and save the day
Stop whining
To all of you who thought it was a good idea to get the firemen to speak out against safe streets: the city will probably just remove all the spaces from the fire house down to the corner so they can turn their truck. Careful what you wish for…
The fireman stunt was one of the lowest moves Pat and company tried to pull at the eleventh hour. Without so much as looking at the plan the queens streets folks were going door to door to scare people about this.
The reconfiguration is about as wide as the line of paint that will be used to delineate the parking lane. The ladders can certainly clear a one foot difference!
The plan also does not call for raised concrete pedestrian islands, making the purported inability to turn argument completely moot. It will indeed be easier to turn with crosswalks clear of parking for a change.
This is one of the many reasons why this farcical attempt to sink a safety plan in the name of parking spots failed. They did not have an argument.
One foot? isn’t the bike lane 4 feet wide? So add 4 feet in addition to the parked cars which will now be butted out.
no response right? BECAUSE ITS NOT ONE FOOT!
Look
At
The
Plan
Slide 10 nullifies your concern:
15 foot wide parking and bike lane as currently designed, 16 foot wide bike and parking lane as will be installed.
This is not only more than enough room for any ladder in the city fleet, but no plan would go into place without prior FDNY approval. It’s quite simple, the DOT works within dimensions that conform to FDNY requirements. That has been done here so the argument is MOOT.
Just shows you don’t live here. A fire truck now can double park right next to parked cars, blocking the bike lane. IF they double parked next to the bike lane currently then it would be 1 foot, or 6 as stated in the less busy areas of the plan (which still have residential buildings) So you are wrong. Nice try with your skewed data
re: IF they double parked next to the bike lane currently then it would be 1 foot (CORRECT), or 6 (INCORRECT) as stated in the less busy areas of the plan (which still have residential buildings)
Please
Read
Carefully
In the less busy areas of the plan, the fire truck can use the bike lane and buffer on the other side of the parked cars, which is 11 feet wide.
Think about it.
Keep thinking.
Uh oh, here it comes.
That’s it: the cold realization that you are wrong and that your ridiculous fire drill just got put out by the fire truck that can still access all streets and the top floors of all buildings in Sunnyside. Rejoice!
You are the farce. How dare you keep naming one person when 12,000 people signed on? No one wants you here! You are all pains in the ass. Get it? You have made yourselves so hatable people are energized against you. You are all ignoramuses who willingly go all dramatic about “saving lives” when it is all about money! Stop buying the bullshit these people are mesmerizing you with. It is always, always, always about money when it comes from the top. It is always, always, always about people when it comes from the bottom. Listen to the people, they know what they need. Big organizations are always about money.
The organizers of your rage and fear were a few angry and scared members of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce who mistakenly(!) calculated that their best hope to stop this plan lay in stoking public fear and resentment of it. It was never going to work because of the farcical nature of their claims against safety benefits of tried and tested design. It was a political Hail Mary but it missed not only because the ball hit the ground; there was not even an opposing team on the field. It was for nothing but shame and a bitter loss of their own incompetent making.
You are right about one thing: the DOT has always been and remains 99% about moving cars. Plans like these could be more common, larger in scope, and safety benefits larger, if not for their dogged insistence on producing traffic neutral (or improving) projects.
Please do not give up on bringing these safety benefits to Northern Boulevard!
There is no rage and fear except in response to vicious attacks by fanatical Bike Believers who fail to see anyone’s needs but their own. They are the pitiful puppets of REBNY and its herd of tamed politicians who read their scripts word for word in order to fool people into believing they are progressing rather than just being moved around like pawns in order to make fat cats hiding behind their drivel even fatter than any cat has ever been before. You, and your friends, are foot soldiers who volunteer to be the battering rams for their plans. You hurt many, many of your neighbors in your eagerness to please your masters. Why not safety for all, not just the favored few?
The comprehensive street safety plan that will be installed along Skillman and 43rd Avenues will decrease the amount of collisions and severity of injuries/property damage across the board. This is happening with these plans all over the city, country, and world. Yes, it’s an accelerating shift from automobile culture, and yes, there are not enough superlatives to describe how successful giving street space back to people has been.
I’m sorry to point this out, but you’ve mentioned REBNY and assorted conspiracies enough times in this thread to warrant a mental health check up. Get some rest and set any necessary appointments or pick up your refills in the morning. There’s no point in getting overly stressed out about any of these things. Best of luck to you in recovery.
Ok DeBlasio fair enough. go have your bike lane. Now how about giving Sunnyside garden residents parking rights (Jimmy V are you listening) in front of their property from 6.00pm to 8.00am that has been proposed from time to time. Cars from skilman are now going to get pushed down onto the side streets.
Great plan. I think Sunnyside G. residents would be willing to up their property tax by 20% or so in order to pay for the street and maintenance.
Please get another pen name fake Gardens Watcher. From your use of the word “their” instead of “our” you just outed yourself as a fake troll! We’re one big city pal so Gardens taxpayers pay taxes same as you do. That assumes you pay taxes.
Yep. I live in the gardens and pay taxes and have no car. I will get a tax break when your private parking space plan gets implemented? Thanks!
I am not sure why you type one thing then say another right after? You are very contradictory. Maybe off meds?
I’m not quite sure you are understanding what I am proposing or rather residents are proposing. All we are asking is for the right to park in front of our property from 6 in the evening until 8 the next morning. I think you are confusing it with private streets that are in some neighborhoods & naturally pay for the street maintenance.
I think where this is all going is Sunnyside Gardens Resident Only parking stickers, probably like the Back Bay in Boston, right Mr. Red Sox-loving Mayor? Maybe he’ll dangle that option in order to buy public approval for a toll on QB bridge? Just a guess and just another plan to raise money.
Breezy point has similar parking in the summer months
I doubt that since the Gardens residents already pay $6000+ taxes yearly
Unfortunately the space in front of your house is public property. You could do resident permits which would get rid of out of state plates and commuters in the neighborhood.
HEy waht about us Section 8 people. dont we be nedin a parking spot to? alls you uppty snoby peoples in the gardens thinks you shoudl get everting
OK I smell yet another troll, but I’ll play along.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m not a snob and neither are the neighbors I know in the Gardens. And nobody is getting “everting” in the Gardens. We’re LOSING local parking spots that are already scarce and it will be even harder to find parking for visitors (nearly impossible now) or for those who have no other place to park except on the streets.
I worked my ass off for years in Manhattan and commuted via subway and cabs back then (way before Uber). I didn’t inherit a penny or a car either. Nobody gave me a car–I earned it myself and I still use public transit when feasible. I park in my privately-owned garage most of the time. But sometimes I’m parked on the street, especially if it’s late at night, or the weather is nasty, and there’s an open spot near my house. Sorry some posters have a problem with that.
I got tired of circling the Gardens hunting for a spot on the street years ago. I thought garages were pricey then, but its quadrupled since and not even remotely possible for me or most folks now.
I kinda wonder if it’s Uber or the ride-sharing services lobby that are the ones really pushing hard on this. And nasty too. Less parking spots = more people giving up their cars = more Uber business. You won the battle, so why persist? Do I have that right General BdB??
Hey we be people to, resident parking permits would cover racists as well. No need to worry.
Since Jimmy “respects the Major decision”, Jimmy is an official sell out unless he stands up and stops this overreach!
The DOT has had this plan up for two years. We voted for a Mayor that supports bike lanes and Vision Zero. Big conspiracy!!! The DOT and REBNY are swimming in their ill gotten gains from the bike lanes!!! The truth is, the city didn’t listen to a bunch of rude local yokel knuckleheads who gave no legitimate reason to stop the plan. If you and your leaders had actually read the DOT’s strategic plan, you would know that parking and businesses making false claims are not a reason to stop safe street redesigns. Best of luck wallowing in your grief.
This is what incompetence looks like: High crime / murder rate soaring / Bronx teen killed? “Eh.” Bike lanes vs. small businesses- “You’ll take the bike lanes and you’ll like it.” De Blasio is pathetic. I hope he takes another trip to the border and stays there.
This precious parking right that car owners feel so entitled to is a funny thing. Why do car owners — and only car owners — have the privilege of using our most public of spaces — our streets — to use as a free storage facility for their personal property, their cars? I have a feeling that if I decided to free up some space in my apartment and put my refrigerator on the street, there’d be trouble. But if you own a two-ton slab of glass and steel that happens to be a car, there’s no problem. You are allowed to completely block an entire lane of just about every street. You pay nothing for the privilege. That is valuable space and people need it. It could and should be used for pedestrians, bicyclists, buses, and emergency vehicles. But people can’t use it because we let cars take it and pay nothing for it. Just about everything we could do with that space is more useful, productive, and just generally better than letting car owners block it by using it for storage they don’t pay anything for. Why are cars more important than people?
When bikes start paying insurance then they are welcome in the street .
False equivalence. Insurance does not fund street repair and maintenance, taxes do–of which we cyclists and pedestrians certainly pay.
What about registrations and license fees. YOU PAY 000
You pay registration and license fees to own and operate a private vehicle not to drive and park on the streets. You aren’t required to pay in the same way that we are all required to pay taxes for public works.
Car owners pay very high gas taxes for the privilege ass well as license and registration feeds, which are outrageous. If bycleist had to register their bikes, might be a different argument.
They should have to pay a tax on petals.
Umm, trouble spelling again, fake GW troll? Petals are for flowers.
But seriously folks, how about requiring EZ Pass for bikers? A fee for crossing the QB bridge would help pay for those bike lanes and help identify who’s coming over the bridge. After 9/11, we’ve have police checkpoints for motorists crossing at all bridges and tunnels, yet anybody with a bike and a backpack can cross the bridge without question. This is all about safety for everybody, right?
WHAT INCREDIABLE IGNORANCE
Hey Pat D0rfman, I hear Joe Crowley is looking for a new roommate. Make sure he has an extra room for Catherine Nolan to join you.
You coward. If you are going to use a private citizen’s name, use your own. And, I beg you, learn something before you open your yap again, you dipshit.
The only satisfaction I get from this move by DeBlasio…….Gary and his liberal friends who actively promote the Progressive agenda….gay bingo…etc have just been paid back for their duplicity….Jimmy Van Brammer is an opportunist….sticks his finger in the wind to see where it blows….he is a phoney…….it won’t be long before they run out of normal tax paying people to demonize and turn on each other
Thanks for your comments hateful ignoramus. Hopefully you will get run over by a gay biker on their way to play gay bingo. Gay badminton courts are next for all the playgrounds…
@Greg..How disgusting to wish harm on someone who doesn’t agree with your point of view or agenda..You’re probably another one of those bullies who attended the JVB self defense classes!!!
Homophobia is not a difference of opinion Jimmy Van Dreamer.
Probably going to happen and a sensitive zone for those that get offended when they lose.
In just a couple of weeks, we’ve gotten rid of a corrupt machine politician, dragged Sunnyside kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and seen what our city councilman is really made of. Awesome!!!
Umm, not so fast Greg. Only your third comment is kinda accurate–the first two are laughable. Not sure who the “we” is. Crowley’s name will still be on the ballot come Nov. elections on the WF Party line (as of now), so “WE” (all the voters in the district who actually cast a vote) will decide then who will represent us in Congress. And even if he loses his seat in Nov., do you really think he will just disappear in Queens? Grab your handlebars, you’re in for a bumpy ride.
All three are correct…sorry Gardens Watcher.
Hmm… “All the voters in the district who actually cast a vote” will decide who represents us in Congress in November and yet these voting voters were somehow MIA on June 26. Puzzling…
Puzzling? Not for this long-time voter. Here’s my take on why (bear with me–its long):
1. The June 26 primary was a “closed” Democratic Party primary election and was ONLY for the U.S. House of Representatives seat (now held by Joe Crowley). “Closed” means that the election was ONLY for voters who are currently and properly registered as members of the Democratic Party. So unlike some other states that allow voters to cross party lines in the primaries, New York rules are such that NO Republican, Independents, etc. were allowed to vote in this June 26 Dem. primary. But they WILL of course be able to vote for whomever they want to in the General Election come this November, whether the candidate is listed on the ballot in one of the listed party “lines” or as a write-in candidate. And so the Nov. election is the vote that will decide who are Congressperson will be for the upcoming term.
2. The Democratic Party primary for all of our OTHER New York State offices and our local offices are usually held in September. So some Democrats may have been confused about the timing of this summer primary election. Or maybe they were on vacation (school is out now but it’s back in session in September). Or maybe they didn’t take AOC’s candidacy seriously enough to cast a vote at all.
For those reasons and possibly many more, there was a very low turnout — less than 12% of registered voters.
I have a feeling the turnout will be much higher this Fall.
He disappeared from Queens long long ago, just kept his hand here
Jimmy Van Bramer needs to put his money where his mouth is a STOP DeBlasio!! Jimmy outright rejected this plan and will look weak if he does nothing.
he never rejected this plan at all he was all for it from the very beginning don’t kid yourself – Mr. JVB is all for himself.
The churches, synagogues, and mosques that came out against this plan got the moral spanking from the mayor they deserve. As for the women from the public schools who tried to use kids as a pawn to protect parking for their friends and relatives: I guess you’ll have to teach your kids how to look both ways before they step into a street. Think you can do that?
Victory! Cyclists 1, sheeple,0
Huge win for safety environment and good ol classic fresh air
Here is a case where sheeple tried to resist a change for the best because they don’t want to inconvenience themselves. Such first world privelidge. Perhaps now you will be forced to start living more sustainably. Love It! 8) time to celebrate. You know what the best part is ? The idiots who are firmly rooted in car culture are now on their way out. It’s a huge win and a step forward. I hope those of you who opposed this are angry and miserable. Some of you will be forced to change for the best while the really dumb ones will leave. Slam dunk for deblasio in the face of sheeple.100 100 100 i never agreed with much from beblasio until now!!!! Btw let’s continue our boycott of aubergine cafe. I will personally never set foot in that establishment ever again.
I support the bike lanes. But I also think the tone of this comment loses you potential allies.
This is amusing. I have no idea how many people down-voted my support for bike lanes and how many people down-voted my criticism of the previous writer’s tone.
Nuance: BAD!
Dichotomy: GOOD!
Face it, you never set foot in Aubergine before either.
Can you please edit the story and the linked pdf to reflect the DOT’s updated proposal as presented in June? http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/skillman-ave-43rd-ave-june2018.pdf
The plan that will be implemented cut the parking loss by 42% in the non-industrial section of Sunnyside and would now utilize 66 spaces not 120. The number of spaces in the 18 blocks of skillman between 39th and Roosevelt is 24 not 40. The number of spots in the 7 block commercial heart of skillman is 5, one of which is metered parking.
Please note the changes. Thank you for honestly and accurately reporting this story.
Wait a minute so this was corrected as of 9am but is now back to the 42% inflated numbers?
See above post and clarify.
The original data was correct.
66 parking spaces are being removed in the neighborhood corridor.
50 are being lost in the approach. See page 24 of the presentation.
To be fair the originally quoted number of approximately 120 came from the Neighborhood Corridor section in slide 13 (which adds to 114). The updated number in slide 24 is 66, a 42% drop to address community concerns.
If you want to use 116 you should at least reflect that it was originally 159, a global 27% decrease.
Oh, I see the spin machine is in full throttle! What a pathetic PR plan you TA guys have: let’s post fake praise under stolen names to sow confusion and make it look like everybody loves this decision, even though Gardens Watcher has been a staunch critic of this plan all along. It’s sad to see this community conversation site devolve into a propaganda machine for political ends. Jack, and I agree: this is a BIG FU from Bill DeBulshit.
Gardens Watcher is on to something. Follow the money, this goes all the way to the top! I’m going to the grocery store to stock up on water and saltines — we will all be trapped in our houses once the bikes take over and the apocalypse comes. Repent repent TA PR FU!
The mayor is plotting and scheming here big time — if you can’t see the big picture here, you need to WAKE UP! First they move the bike lane over 4 feet, what next … will they install a dome over the city to block out the sun? Just look at Chicago!
Casey gets it! Amen.
Good night trolls. Have fun playing with yourselves. I know you think this is fun and games.
Every time I look for a parking space and can’t find one I’m going to think of Van Bramer and his husband and how they have ignored our neighborhood. This will not be forgotten.
I’m entitled to a parking space! Also, down with teh commies!
Will people still be talking about this in a year or two? Or will we all adapt and get on with it?
I have been here my whole life!!!Jackass
If you can’t beat em, join em. Here is how old and young people in Seville, Spain are adapting to their expanding bike network. http://www.streetfilms.org/how-seville-got-its-bicycle-network/
If its a minority complaining why did it get voted down!All of you hipsters want to drive families out of sunnyside!!!!We were here first. GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM.
sunnyside is a better place if YOU would go back to where you came from.
Spoken like a true piece of shit Libtard who fakes love for diversity, then move into minority communities, and arrogantly tells everyone in it to go back where they came from. Entitled bitches, and undercover libtard racists showing their true colors!
Amen.
What vote?
The community board voted overwhelmingly against it.
Are the community boards elected?
Also, aren’t they basically powerless?
They are not elected, they are just an opinion, and I believe they don’t have term limits.
This is the angry mob that Pat Dorfman has unleashed on this community. Trying to manipulate the ignorant anger of misanthrops in order to build a political case against safety, an inherently apolitical issue. This kind of organization was the most deplorable kind of nimby-ism and was destined for this spectacular failure from the day she made posters to “save Sunnyside parking.” What a farce!
These are the same folks that oppose a “dangerous” middle school! They’re scared of 12 year olds and bicycles. Amazing.
You are wrong. Bikers have made themselves the most dislikable group of people using the public space. Puppets of the DiBlasio-REBNY juggernaut.
Democracy according to the Liberal DemoRatic party. What a time to be an American! #nolongermyparty #crashtheparty #walkaway
why not #driveaway? Where are you going?
Luckily it will be much safer for you to #walkaway after the DOT implements this great improvement to our streets.
Let me just say that I support this bike lane plan. Some of the parking concerns are legit but are way overstated. Relax people. But JVB and the Transportation Alternatives group do not deserve credit. JVB kicked the can and let the Community Board do his research and fact finding. At the same time, McCartney of T-A could not have been a worse mascot for this plan. I was embarrassed for him. I was also embarrassed for JVB. His office fell asleep at the wheel. Despite the fact that he was the most important local official on the matter, he abdicated his role. As such, he lost my vote for BP. I don’t vote for wimps.
Jimmy was once the guy we all turned to for help. Now he’s the guy who is slyly working against us. I’m very upset.
He has turned into a desperate term-limited politician struggling to find his feet. One minute he is endorsing Joe Crowley, the next he is endorsing Cynthia Nixon. One minute he’s backing Transportation Alternatives, the next he’s with local business owners. Then back to Transportation Alternatives. Jimmy is quickly becoming unglued.
He won’t be elected borough president when the whole of Queens know his ties to Transportation Altneratives and how opinions are all political.
He has undermined so many good people by tacitly endorsing this plan.
Jimmy totally changed in his second term. Now he is in his third term and eyes on a bigger political career as Queens Borough President in 2021 election. All of his decisions are viewed by him and his team with a ‘bigger city and borough wide implication’, not Sunnyside. Not the same personality when he was first elected.
He actually has to live here after this is said and done and his political career is over. Maybe we should feel bad for him!
Too many people hardly ever move their cars, they sit there all week and move to the other side of the street and that’s it. when someone put the Flyers on the cars about parking you could really see that they hardly ever move the Flyers set there for 5 days. street cleaning should be twice a week on each side like it is in Brooklyn so the car is moving more often. a good portion of the car is in this neighborhood are mostly unused, except to go shopping outside of the neighborhood and support corporate big box stores.
Whose future careers just died??? Bike Lane Jimmie Lackey of Bike Lane Bill. We have bike lanes.They work fine. Lawbreaking & drunk driving caused the fatality.We need a fighter not a patsy for fanatics.
Why so angry?
Why so fanatically angry? The fanatics here were those against street safety.
too bad. if u don’t like it you can go to jersey where you belong.
BdB wrote that two lives have been lost. Gelacio Reyes was one, who was the other?
Why bother to ask? They will just lie.
Steven Narvaez was also killed in 2017 a few months after Gelasio Reyes. The street is currently designed at a speedway. It appears he tried to speed through a red and ran into a truck that didn’t have side guards and led to a deadly crash.
REDUCING SPEEDS SAVES LIVES
CLOSING BANKS STOP BANK ROBBERIES
NO BEACHES REDUCE DROWNINGS
Any other brilliant insight to offer. Hell ban all vehicular traffic, they’ll be no auto accidents at all. The Luddites were right. I’m with you!
I’m down for banning vehicular traffic ?
Did I miss something? Is DOT closing down 43rd Ave or Skillman altogether to vehicles? No, right, so save the hyperbole.
He was driving, and did speed through a red light at 6am going WELL over the speed limit. Not an innocent bystander
Bicycles should be licensed ( with visible identification) registered and insured. If they want to share the road, they should share the responsibilities. If we were able to identify the operator of the bicycle, we would see more responsible bicycle riding! No more riding through red lights, or riding incorrectly down one way streets.
Cool. Can I get a free 15ft stretch of street space for my bike when I get my little bike license plate .
Can’t you think up your own pen name?
Woodside I could kiss you. I’ve been thinking this for quite a while now. People ON ALL SIDES HAVE TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!!! Most drive like maniacs with no sense of rules or consideration. It’s like the wild west out there! All boroughs too.
What would be great is for the Mayor to look into parking placard abuse and mta vest on the windshield as a parking placard abuse. Go down on the 43rd street by the budget office. All the workers by sunnyside yards park their cars on the sidewalk, hey great idea for 43 Ave and skillman, buy a vest, print an mta logo and glue it to the vest. You’ll be able to park on the side walk! Problem solved!!!
I cannot believe the disrespect the Mayor has shown to Congressman Joe Crowley. Ignoring Jimmy Van Bramer is to be expected, after all Mr. Van Bramer backed Christine Quinn in 2012 Mayoral election, but kicking Joe Crowley to the curb, a leader who has been a big supporter of Bill deBlasio, is wrong.
Van Bramer was all for the plan until the end and said no because sunnyside residents and businesses he frequents were upset. He said NO knowing that the Mayor was going to go ahead with the plan. This way, Van Bramer saved face with his voters. “He didn’t do it and take away your parking. Someone else did. I was with you.” line.
Joe Crowley and the Queens Democratic Party also backed Christine Quinn in 2013. Crowley also orchestrated Quinn’s election as Speaker. I don’t disagree with your premise about the bike lanes, but, you’re misunderstanding the political framework in our area.
John, don’t you live in Forest Hills. What’s you’re stake in this?
Just here to drinks Demos’ tears. ????? Enjoy a safer neighborhood, everyone.
Is anyone surprised by DeBlasio doing this… never mind the majority of people not wanting this. What do u expect from someone who spent his honeymoon in Cuba.
Don’t blame me: I did not vote for DeBozo. #worstmayorever. Yes, this will hurt local businesses but since DeBozo has never worked in his life, what would he know? Van Bramer useless.
They are nothing more than populist fools i.e. no loyalty and no backbone,they are not Democrats.
I called it with Van Bramer. He always knew the Mayor was going to go ahead. He voted the way he did so he would not be the bad guy to the neighborhood for his own political outlook. Look at his tweets:
Jimmy Van Bramer
@JimmyVanBramer
· 5h
Replying to @JimmyVanBramer
I’ve always said that I support bike lanes and that I support protected bike lanes. There is no question in my mind that this proposal will make 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave safer.
Jimmy Van Bramer
✔
@JimmyVanBramer
And while there remain concerns among business owners and some residents about the plan, I respect the Mayor’s decision.
The Councilman should be concerned that the Mayor ignored his vote. Very calculating against the constituency and businesses throughout Skillman and 43 Avenue, Councilman!
i think this is great for bikers and pedestrians. store owners are upset that their customers wont have a place to park? what? if your living in sunnyside, why do you need your car to go up to queens blvd? or on 43rd avenue? if your in the area you dont need to drive to the store on queens blvd. honestly, our neighborhood has TOO many families with cars. this is NOT long island. if you live in sunnyside, you really dont need to own a large car, or a car in general, especially if you’ve lived in sunnyside all your life. this change seems to affect long islanders and people NOT living in sunnyside.
Actually our neighborhood doesn’t have that many families with cars. It’s one of the lowest car-ownership neighborhoods in the city which is why Gary O’Neill and Manny Gomez going around like the Paul Revere’s of parking spaces really didn’t make much of an impact.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’ve seen people say that our neighborhood is very low car ownership and while that seems like it’s true, I wonder what evidence for that there is. Do you know?
The numbers are on the US census factfinder. I believe it’s about 33% of Sunnysidehouseholds have access to cars which is almost half of the 63% car ownership rate in the borough of Queens.
Note that isn’t to say finding parking in the area isn’t difficult. This plan’s imminent implementation certainly gives credence to parking reform. Though it should be noted that businesses and residents compete for parking space. If residents want parking permits businesses would likely resist and if businesses want more metered spots so would residents. Charging proper rates for parking would solve this, but I don’t think the community is ready to hear this.
Interesting. Thanks.
I’ve seen many people in these comments talking about how giving away free parking spaces to car owners with on-street parking is a problem. I think the idea is germinating.
Gary O’Neill’s overzealous opposition to Safer Skillman is why I will never patronize Aubergine again. I live around the corner and would stop in occasionally but his anti-safety stance really ruined it for me. I’m voting with my wallet on this one.
Why dont you liberal pieces of garbage go back to where you came from.I blame everyone who voted for this poor excuse of a mayor
You’re feelings are hurt.
Liberals — in New York City??? What is going on
Why exactly do you think you are qualified to say whether other people “need” to own cars? For that matter, why should people have to prove to you that they “need” a car in order to own one? Who “needs” to own a bike? Also – let’s please stop pretending this is safer for pedestrians. For bicyclists I can see, but for pedestrians crossing the street, bike lanes are clearly not safer.
How many pedestrians have been killed by bicycles. I can’t find any statistics
So nothing but death counts? I have a friend who has grown to absolutely hate bikes and bikers because so many of you have intimidated her. She says cars don’t scare her because they are largely predictable, bikes aren’t because bikers don’t obey any traffic laws, except when they want to. Her opinion, not mine.
I’m scared of bees.
No sh*t a car will do more damage than a bike. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Bicyclists don’t stick around long enough to help the people they hit. Ask the crossing guards how many times it has actually happened. That’s why the schools don’t want them!
You can’t be serious. Have you ever heard of climate change?
Same reason you need apostrophes; they are useful and help you make your point more clearly. I am born and raised in Sunnyside and bought my first car as soon as I could. Why? My family did not own a car so I grew up walking and/or traveling at the mercy of the god-damned worst train line ever. not to mention cars are super helpful when your school or job is not in Sunnyside, and/or do not have convenient access via PT. I regularly stop by my favorite local businesses on my way to or from work, but if I don’t get a spot somewhat nearby, I’m likely to scrap a stop since it’s already going to take me a dog’s age to find a spot on my side of the hood.
That all OK with you, Karen?! GOSH.
Sorry SS original. Just because you were born here doesn’t give you an inherent right to own a vehicle and have easy park access. Adapt or leave. It’s a fool’s errand to expect everything to stay the same. Btw your exhaust pipe STINKS.
Adapt or leave, that should be your motto! the demanding entitles few bicyclists!
You are truly a barbarian, you know that. Adapt or leave? What a heartless ass you are! Don’t ever call yourself a human being. Humans have consciences, are trained to care for others, are taught to believe in equality and compassion. You sound like a Neanderthal. Superior political power has debased all of you. Kill all the natives so you can have their homes. All of you disgust me beyond belief.
Way to go DeBlasio, Bob Moses would be proud.
Best comment on his thread.. lol
How can you say an expressway that demolished neighborhoods and a bike lane are the same thing?
Never said that they were the same thing, DeBlasio’s imperious nature is exactly the same as Bob Moses. He knows what’s best. Remember B.M. Was celebrated as an outstanding progressive in his early days. Hell the NYT didn’t even recognize what a POS he really was till just before he retired. As for comparing an expressway to a bike lane. They are both being rammed down a community’s throat for the benefit of people that do not live in said community.
JVB talks out of both sides of his mouth! He never opposed the bike lanes – that is a joke (just like he never seems to know about the homeless shelters)! Not only does JVB jump to the mayor for his own political gain, JVB’s husband (Dan Hendrick) is also on the board of Transportation Alternatives. Vote him out of City Council!
You’re in luck: he’s term-limited!
Well it’s what we do now in this country is protest ever little thing! So protest! come out block the construction and make it hard for the city. The majority of the people who will be using the bike lanes do not even live in Sunnyside. The lanes will protect nothing just increase pedestrians that will be hit by bikers who already do not follow the rules…
And through which neighborhoods do you drive to get to work? People who live there think that you’re part of their traffic problem. We all live here in this one, united city.
Sunnyside is not a gated community, no matter how much some residents wished it were. ?
Regional traffic belongs on boulevards, not local streets.
The difference is no one is going to community board meetings and deciding change in neighborhoods that they simply commute through.
Show up every day during construction, block everything they do that does not appear safe. Safety first at all cost. If any construction equipment is left on site overnight call 311 and complain. The safety requirements for construction in New York are quite onerous, call 311 if you even think anybody is working in an unsafe manor. After all safety is the important thing. Make damn sure to also call JVB with all of your concerns everyday, because we all know how much he cares for the community. In short behave like TA and be as obnoxious and expensive as you can be.
.
I have fun with that. I’ll be enjoying my summer counting the days til protected bike lanes. Victory over the sheeple 8) /celebrating in the sun !
Why do you call people who don’t agree with you “sheeple?” Is there something wrong with you? Have you never heard of different points of view? Any one who falls for the “safety” argument is a fool.
OK, so on skillman and 43rd where main population is, it remains 2 lanes, but in areas where there isn’t much population it goes down to 1 lane. To be honest maybe finally commuters to manhattan will stop using skillman and 43rd as their shortcut to avoid blvd traffic, they speed on 43rd all the time. Protected bike lane is not much protected, but how do you enforce bikers to stay on protected bike lanes?
I think what people don’t understand there are very valid arguments on both sides. Law abiding bikers want to be safe, but then decent drivers don’t want to see ignorant bikers zip in and out of roads. I have a dashcam on my car and I drive through sunnyside every day multiple hours, if I were to recored all my bike encounters, and how stupid they act, you can easily see why people are so against giving anything to bikers. Drivers and non bikers feel that bikers are not doing anything to deserve this, because there is no enforcement, there is no rule or regulation, and bikers almost never accountable for anything.
Instead of trying to bring peace between bikers and drivers/non bikers, local government is shoving this down community’s throat, and it’s only creating more hate. What’s stopping bikers from riding on roads when there is a protected bike lane? Are you going to ban bikes from queens blvd? Just like bike lanes, we need bike free roads and sidewalks.
I hope city can find a better solution to keep bikers safe because honestly properly equipped and law abiding bikers deserve all the safety and security they can get but politicians should stop making this a war between two sides.
PS: 1400+ bikes in 24 hours, YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS.
Very pleasant neighborhood. One of my biggest gripes is the way people drive like nuts through that area. I hope this helps.
Sunnysiders need to stop this! DeBalsio is a tyrant!
The COC should have just asked for more pay spaces on the side streets instead of trying to look like neighborhood heroes. CB2 should not have wasted everyone’s time with an amateur-hour traffic planning session; and Pat Dorfman should have read the DOT’s strategic plan before she riled everybody up with her alternate facts and reality campaign. Enj0y the bike lanes and safer intersections everyone! P.S. Notice how fast Welcome Home Real Estate goes from having an anti-bike lane poster in their window to up-selling apartments that are on the protected bike lane to mid-town. LOL
Not everyone is as jaded as you are.
And as they overdevelop the neighborhood and eventually build over sunnyside yards, they will not upgrade infrastructure. This will be their fall back. Can’t get on the train? Ride a bike. Look at all these bike lanes! It’s a solution for 6 months out of the year when riding a bicycle is actually feasible in NYC. And that’s for people that are actually physically able to ride a bicycle on a daily basis.
And for now all those non-existent cyclists are safe where there was no danger: in the middle of blocks.
Exactly. Thank you. And maybe we should be spending money on making our subway system wheel chair accessible.
I really wonder what’s all the bike lane push is all about, there has to be a motive because bikers alone is not a huge voter base, and what you said could make sense. I don’t know what else could be the reason behind all these bike lane business. I used to bike when I lived in New Jersey, but it was a bike friendly town, sunnyside is not a bike friendly town because there are so many intersections within 1 mile radius and it’s just way too dense for bikers to easily go around, they are trying to make it bike-friendly by pushing it but I am not so sure how well it’s going to work out in the end.
The push for bike lanes is about only one thing: safety.
Having a bike lane on a street, even if it is seldom used, makes the street safer for all users. The orthodoxy of transportation engineering went in the direction of car-oriented development until the oil embargo started a slow but steady move away from ceding as much space as possible to cars. Streets overly designed for automobiles have been shown to be less safe, indeed they are deadly, so cities all over the world have begun giving space back to cyclists and pedestrians.
We are lucky to have this coming to our neighborhood!
It is about money. Anyone who believes it is about safety is foolish. Very foolish. They want to jam hundreds of thousands more people all along this corridor and they don’t have the infrastructure for it, so get rid of people who depend on it and attract fools who don’t know they are puppets for REBNY and the politicians they pay for.
M Casey synthesizes why the cranks organized by Pat Dorfman inevitably failed. There was no logical opposition to the plan.
Breathe fella, you will be ok! The parking situation won’t be bad at all!
You’re as gullible as you are sincere.
I know jimmy, and he is doing this to please his boy friend because that is what he wants!!!!
They’re married. And you have to be nuts to think that’s the plan — the city has been upgrading bike lanes for years now.
The best part of this is Jimmy Van Bramer pissed off both sides because he took all positions and everyone will take a hard look at him next time he is on the ballot.
The photo accompanying this article very clearly shows why we need protected lanes. Cars are always double parked or driving in the lanes. I ride daily and it’s quite dangerous when drivers swerve in to the unprotected bike lane.
Don’t swerve into the car lane.
Don’t leave your parents basement.
I thought you were put away in assisted living.
Road laws clearly state that when a bicycle takes a lane they fully do so. Its a safety measure to avoid cars trying to squeeze in and cause a collision. When a bike takes a lane it acts to same way a car would an occupies the space.
I would always stay in a the bike lane and never have to cross into car lanes but the dozens of double parked cars make it impossible to do so.
The sun will come out tomorrow.
People have been so fearful of this plan you’d think it would slow the rotation of the earth…it won’t, it will just slow the rotation of your (car AND bike) tires. It will mean you need to take 36% fewer steps to cross the street, which will protect the lives and limbs of our children, elderly+disabled, and dogs. This plan was, is, and will be a great improvement for our community.
The elderly and disabled don’t ride bicycles. Maybe if cyclists obeyed traffic laws we would have less accidents.
same with drivers! i’ve seen way too many drivers speed down my skillman ave, drivers that swerve into the bike lanes. we need less cars in this neighborhood. this isn’t long island. its a small neighborhood.
“This isn’t Long Island ” buy a fucking map.
Read the comment…it’s about shorter crosswalks for the elderly and disabled. As one of the DOT officials stated during the meeting: forget about the bike lane – the majority of safety benefits from these plans comes from the shorter crosswalks.
As I’ve said before visit the intersection of 41st, Greenpoint Ave and 48th Ave. You can see the complete ineptitude of the DOT. As a bonus it cost millions to do. New electrical to all new signals, new crosswalks that most people ignore, all built by outside vendors. Everybody makes money , everybody’s happy.
Protected bike lanes are destroying local business and are a gentrifying force.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/ny-metro-bens-best-deli-closing-20180608-story.html
“Because of customer shrinkage in recent months, it’s been the worst of times for Ben’s Best.”
Parker said in November that protected bike lanes installed in August by the Department of Transportation and a cut of nearly 200 parking spaces were killing business.”
“The bike lanes aren’t hurting us, they’re murdering us,”
Bikes lanes did not charge people $20 for a sandwich.
Good point. But if you google Ben’s menu a pastrami sandwich cost $12.99 which is pretty reasonable in NYC. So there’s that.
I googled it. There’s no 12.99 sandwich on Ben’s menu.
HOT PASTRAMI………………………………………………………………….16.95
That didn’t include anything else, no chips, no fries, no coke, nothing. Just a sandwich on a plate. Peace.
Ben’s didn’t go out of business because of the bike lanes. He closed this one of several locations because in the last several years Jay admittedly wasn’t able to serve a large orthodox glatt kosher Jewish community moved in who didn’t even get near his restaurant (which they do not consider kosher).
And also, the service at this location was glacial. I went in with one person ahead of me and waited 20 minutes. I went close to closing, there was a line, and it would have taken an hour so I left. Can’t blame the employees for not wanting to move faster given the way they were *allegedly* treated. Google that one.
Support Aubergine a community hub
The owner of Ben’s Best has a twin-engine airplane. Don’t cry for him too hard.
I would encourage everyone who objects to this being rammed down our community’s throat to call the Mayor’s office and voice your objection. Also, insist that cyclist follow traffic laws which includes stopping at red lights using the actual bike lanes and cycling in the direction of traffic, and call them out when they break the laws. I would also demand that all bicycles be licensed by the State and be required to buy insurance. Lastly I would ask that the MTA deny access to all cyclists on our subways. Sorry but you don’t get to bring your bike on a crowded train.
Why are you so scared of bicycles?
They are hate-filled, arrogant people, that’s why. They give me the single finger salute far more than car drivers ever have, and I’ve been driving for more than 40 years. They will not find a welcome mat in this neighborhood.
I welcome bikes.
Actually, you do get to bring your bike on a crowded train. Best of luck with your licensing and insurance thing.
I would encourage everyone who objects to this being rammed down the communities throat to call the Mayor’s office and voice your objection. Also, insist that cyclist follow traffic laws which includes stopping at red lights using the actual bike lanes and cycling in the direction of traffic, and call them out when they break the laws. I would also demand that all bicycles be licensed by the State and be required to buy insurance. Lastly I would ask that the MTA deny access to all cyclists on our subways. Sorry but you don’t get to bring your bike on a crowded train.
I would encourage everyone to relax and stop freaking out over nothing. Perhaps go for a bike ride.
Wow. Snark for an elected official. See how that works out for you.
Oh wait. My mistake. Your posing.
Good thing our elected officials never resort to petty name calling on twitter.
It’s “you’re”. You don’t help your argument when you don’t spellcheck.
Way to go playing both side Jimmy! I’m glad you listened to outside interest before ours. We will remember this as you try to climb the political ladder.
Yep. Jimmy knew the Mayor was going to go ahead with it. It was all part of the political landscape for public opinion appearances, so that the Councilman won’t look bad to the Sunnyside voters and businesses. Read the Councilman’s response. How can we possibly have him as a Borough President? He can not be trusted at his word.
Sad to say but true.
At least a decision has been made and the folks frothing about the imminent doom can move on to something more productive. By this time next year, no one will remember any of this and the streets will be safer and businesses will see the positive effects of safer streets.
Except for the business that will lose customers as a result of a lack of parking that is.
Unlikely. I can’t find any evidence of that happening — in fact every study shows the opposite. The only argument is the anecdotal story of an old deli in Rego Park that charged $21 for a sandwich and coleslaw! … sure it’s the bike lane 🙂
I drive to other parts of Queens & Brooklyn often for things I can’t find in Sunnyside and if there’s no parking I take my business elsewhere. I really don’t think bike lanes are going to increase the amount of shoppers in Sunnyside. I doubt anyone is avoiding Skillman Avenue because it’s unsafe for bike riding.
Anecdotal
Actually, I do avoid Skillman, and I’m relieved that it could be made more safe. My avoidance is more of an avoidance of most all of LIC/Sunnyside, as I don’t feel incredibly safe riding around here. I used to ride down that way a few times a week when I would go to the Y. I obey the rules when I cycle. I own a car, I dive as safe as I can, as I am very conscience of pedestrians and bicycles… (as I’m often a pedestrian or less often a cyclist myself.) I park my car in the street, too. I don’t drive a whole lot, but am glad I have my car, it allows me to take out of town jobs that often pay the rent. Parking is a pain in the ass and that keeps me from driving as much as I might want. So, when things happen that make parking more difficult (new fancy buildings without a lot, annoying movie shoots etc) I get miffed. I’m not as miffed about this one. Admittedly my stance on this isn’t so black and white. It doesn’t have to be.
Agreed. Well said.
LOL at all the people that are outraged by bike lanes and parking … yet look the other way at the atrocities going on in this country! Get a grip.
It is sad, ToL. If only the parking fanatics would use their energies to help vulnerable neighbors 🙁 It is possible to feel alone even though surrounded by 1000s. We are not alone, we don’t get anywhere with out each other.
You’re on the wrong website, this one is dedicated to local issues. Sorry if this confused you. Take your meds and go back to bed, he won’t be president forever.
Yay, eat shit drivers.
Our neighborhood will now be safer for both pedestrians and people who ride bikes.
Eat shit to the ones who don’t realize that democracy just ended with this action. All anyone’s votes have no meaning. When one person decides against a majority it is called Communism.
If it were put to a vote, bike lanes would win in a landslide.
No it isn’t
de Blasio was democratically the elected.
The community board was not. I guess democracy wins today.
also…
“When one person decides against a majority it is called Communism”
That’s not what communism is.
Shut up fool.
You got it backwards – communism is when all the people decide together what’s best for one
All the hate people like you spread will come back to you multiplied hundreds of times. Be more careful what you wish for others, for what you do to them, you do to yourself.
Pastrami is expensive Get with the program!
Are you a he/she?
Hope you’re happy about losing all those votes next time Jimmy. We know you were complicit in this.
don’t fret Mr. JVB’s pockets were lined well.
You elected this asshole.
Are you part of the 1% who voted for Bo Dittle? Haha
It took five terms of non Democrat mayors to fix this city, let’s see how fast they break it again, they’re well on their way.
Exactly! Thank you Mr. Mayor — good to see someone making decisions even though a minority complain.
Good points, rikki. The mayor was elected fair and square
With a real low turnout even a commie like you could get elected.
So was Trump, but the bitching never stops. “The Russians put fake ads on Facebook wahhhh!!!!!” In fairness I hate the orange jackass, but the whining doesn’t end.
And voted in by a wimp like you.
We will do everything to crush your political career moving forward DeBlasio.
Like what?
Over bike lanes!
What I want to know is why would people vote for a traitor like him.
While some parking advocates may not like it — what’s safest for the entire community is really what is most important. I respect the decision.
Amen
It may be hard to accept change, but making progress is important in any community.
“Parking advocates”? It’s not like there’s some parking lobby out there – what you really mean is “people who live here and own cars” Or “people who live here and have people with cars visit”. Or “people who own businesses here and want to attract visitors who come here in cars”. And this is a big F.U. to all of us.
Yes it is. Here’s an idea to pit things into perspective for you. How would you like it if all the pollution from you your family and friends ends up in your bedroom in the evening. What if your next of kin was killed in a bike by a motorist. Would you still advocate for cars and parking then?
This is New York city! There’s pollution! Shouldn’t have moved here then!