Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Two Anti-Bike Lane Protests Aim to Eradicate Bike Lanes
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 14, 2010
Modified Oct 14, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 14, 2010
Modified Oct 14, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Tomorrow's the big protest against the new east side bike lanes! Since they were installed a few months ago, there has been some griping from local merchants who say it's hard to get deliveries, and others who think it's tougher to find parking now. Tomorrow will be their chance to push back against the DOT's bike lane boom, and maybe shove a stick into the spokes of progress. The demonstration is organized by one Leslie Sicklick, who recently wrote a letter to the Villager editors about how the bike lanes are killing the East Village:
I read your editorial that you support bike lanes — that’s a shame and a mistake on your part. I also find many bikers who are rude and feel they’re entitled. Do you know how many merchants are losing business due to the bike lanes? Just look at First Ave. below 14th St. Many families come into the city to shop and eat from the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island who use cars not bicycles.
Drivers are angry with the loss of parking spaces and the elimination of turns in Manhattan, making drivers go out of their way, causing traffic. Loss of lanes for drivers causes more traffic nightmares. Also, there are people in the East Village who feel bikers are being rewarded for bad behavior — because it’s true.
Yep, below 14th Street is pretty much a ghost town since that First Avenue bike lane went in. Ms. Sicklick also spoke with EV Grieve a couple of weeks ago. We learned that she was born and raised on the Lower East Side, and she used to go to First Avenue to shop and dine but now she can't park her car! It's unclear why she would need to drive there if she lives there, so now we're wondering if she still lives in the neighborhood? (We e-mailed her to find out.) Also, she thinks Mayor Bloomberg is an idiot and wants to know: Do bikers bring in business to the City? The answer: No they don't. That Velo bike shop on Second Avenue and 3rd Street probably operates on some kind of commie barter system.
And turning to the Brooklyn front of the bike lane war, another protest/press conference is being planned for Thursday the 21st. The movement to do away with the new Prospect Park West bike lane has been quietly inching forward since July, when it was revealed that the wife of Park Slope resident and avid cyclist Senator Chuck Schumer was organizing to stop the bike lane. Schumer's wife is former NYC DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, and she's reportedly become a major force in trying to kill the Prospect Park West bike lane.
Streetsblog reports that the PPW bike lane opponents are gathering at 8:30 a.m. next Thursday at the corner of Carroll Street and Prospect Park West. But there will be a counter-protest starting at 8 a.m. at Grand Army Plaza! Rumble and bike jousting to follow, hopefully.
Tagged
bike lanes
east village
Leslie Sicklick
PPW bike lane
prospect park west
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .