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By Crown Heights Askonim

Initial construction has begun on New York City’s controversial new bike lane project in Crown Heights with the city installing pedestrian ramps in middle of busy Avenues to make room for the bike lanes. Under the current plan, the protected bike lanes will be placed on Kingston Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue from East New York Avenue south to Winthrop Street and regular bike lanes will be installed on Rutland Road and Winthrop Street between Kingston and Brooklyn Aves.

The infamous project against the safety and pedestrian security of the Jewish community was originally proposed by Brooklyn Community Board 9 (CB9), along with Assembly member Brian Cunningham, State Senator Zellnor Myrie and NYC Council member Rita Joseph (who represents South CH) penning a signed letter to the Department Of Transportation (DOT) requesting a ‘protected’ bike lane in the Jewish part of their district—on Kingston Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue.

The request from the Crown Heights elected officials was for the ‘protected’ bike lane on Kingston and Brooklyn Aves to begin in phase 1 at Empire Boulevard and continuing south till Kings County Hospital with an option to extend the ‘protected’ bike lane all the way in the heart of Crown Heights till Eastern Parkway in phase 2.

However, in 2025 as the construction street linage was being placed to begin work the very next day, serious safety concerns were immediately raised overnight by the Crown Heights Jewish community leaders to former Mayor Eric Adams office, the proposal was fully paused by city hall before construction began.

Crown Heights Jewish community leaders, Askonim, activists and advocates tirelessly worked for countless hours and attended numerous meetings on behalf of the Shchunah with city officials under the former Adams administration to stop this disastrous, dangerous, reckless and recipe for injury—project.

Although former Mayor Adams office refused to abandon the Kingston and Brooklyn Avenues ‘protected’ bike lane proposal after receiving letters of support of this controversial project from local elected officials including Assembly, NY Senate and City Council members who all represent the affected area and requested the bike lane. The efforts from the CH Jewish leaders led to productive changes resulting in the starting point at the northern section being shortened two-blocks south to East New York Avenue, reducing the negative impact on the Center of Crown Heights and issuing a complete “pause” on the entire project.

According to Jewish community leaders and representatives, discussions with city officials under the Mamdani administration are ongoing, and they continue working to prevent the protected bike lane from extending farther north into Crown Heights in an effort to limit expansion.

Opponents of the protected bike lane which include nearly every parent residing on the affected Avenues in question, argue that while they are intended to improve cyclist safety, the ‘protected’ bike lanes also create unintended extreme dangers for children, especially for kids while waiting for their school (yeshiva) bus and safety concerns for pedestrians, emergency vehicles and deliveries in this densely populated neighborhood.

Residents point to experiences in the Jewish section of Williamsburg, where protected bike lanes installed along parts of Bedford Avenue generated dozens of accidents on pedestrians, some with serious and permanent injuries involving young Satmar Yeshiva students entering and exiting their school buses. Other accidents on the same stretch in Williamsburg included Satmar children being struck by cyclists and e-bikes while exiting a vehicle which they then had to cross over the ‘protected’ bike lane to get to the sidewalk.

Widespread community concerns are that what has transpired with dozens of accidents and injuries of young kids disembarking their Yeshiva buses getting struck by cyclists in the Jewish section of Williamsburg, would happen here as well in Crown Heights. Just worse because Brooklyn Avenue is emptier and downhill, which will result in cyclists, illegal mopeds, e-bikes and e-scooters speeding even faster.

Supporters of the Kingston and Brooklyn Aves protected bike lanes—most who ironically don’t even live in the district, maintain that it is to encourage safer cycling by separating bicycles from vehicle traffic and that if Jewish parents are so concerned that their young children may veer into the bike path and get injured—then parents should not let their kids out of their home or they should have less children.

Opponents, however, believe that each neighborhood has unique traffic patterns and pedestrian needs, and Avenues such as Kingston and Brooklyn which has one of the highest ratio in the city of young kids residing on or immediately near the Avenue-should be carefully considered before implementing permanent street redesigns which may compromise the safety of the children.

Many of our friends and neighbors in the district from the African American and Hipster community of West Crown Heights in closer proximity to Prospect Park have been repeatedly requesting from the local elected officials and at Brooklyn Community Board 9 (CB9) meetings the installation of a protected bike lane along Rogers, Bedford, Franklin, Washington and Classon Avenues.

Yet our elected officials, including Assemblyman Brian Cunningham, Senator Myrie, Councilwoman Hudson and Councilwoman Joseph have deliberately ignored their pleas. This shows how far-fetched from reality, lacking common sense, and disassociated from the district’s locals our elected officials are when they care more about forcing a ‘protected’ bike lane only in the Jewish section of their district, and refuse to request a ‘protected’ bike lane in the yuppie and African American parts of the district against the wishes of the entire community.

Notably, the only local elected official that has not requested ‘protected’ bike lanes installation in the Center of the Crown Heights Jewish community is Congress Member Yvette Clarke, Lubavitchers in the neighborhood are very thankful to the Congresswoman for being the “lone voice of reason” caring about our children’s safety and Askonim are looking forward to continue working hand-in-hand together with Rep. Clarke on behalf of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish community.

As the Kingston and Brooklyn Aves protected bike lanes construction continues, Askonim say they will remain engaged with city agencies to try their best that future decisions reflect the real safety concerns of Crown Heights residents while at the same time hoping that most of the local elected officials get their act together and start to finally represent their constituents and not just the pro-bike lane lobbyists and out-of-district donors and nonprofits.

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