TRUMP ARRAIGNMENT SPECIAL: Bad Day for a President, Great Day for Cyclist in Lower Manhattan

This is a good day for cyclists.
This is a good day for cyclists.

All it took was the historic arraignment of a former President of the United States to get the NYPD and the state court system to keep the Centre Street bike lane clear.

A fact of life for Lower Manhattan commuters is the perpetually blocked Centre Street bike lane between Worth and Canal streets — the result of too many judges commandeering too much curbside space, too many members of the placard élite parking illegally, and too many court-room-bound workers, plaintiffs and suspects taking too many cabs that are forced to double-park.

But on April 4, the day when former President Donald Trump made ignominious history again — twice impeached, and now indicted — the bike lanes were completely clear in both the notorious zone on Centre, but also on Lafayette Street.

I filed this video dispatch (which can be licensed by any major network for a small fee):

That video is worth 1,000 words, but pictures also tell the story. Here’s a slideshow of Lafayette Street:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And over on Centre Street — which features a protected bike lane from Foley Square north to Franklin Street, whereupon it promptly disappears to appease judges — everyone was great today.

This is what it normally looks like (and that’s without the triple-parked cars):

Photo: Dave Colon
Photo: Dave Colon

Now, here’s a slideshow of what it looks like today:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Of course, it’s not all good news in Lower Manhattan. Thanks to the Parks Department, scores of reporters are getting free parking, and defiling the monumental sculpture “Triumph of the Human Spirit” by Lorenzo Pace. The sculpture is the centerpiece of a downtown installation honoring the African Burial Ground and memorializing America’s shameful history of human bondage.

Here’s what that looks like:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Pace recently told Streetsblog that he is always appalled when the Parks Department allows drivers to park in Foley Square right next to his work, but his complaints have been ignored by city officials.

“No other monument like this — which honors the victims of slavery — would be driven on,” he said. “The African Burial Ground was disrespected from the moment it was rediscovered, and it still is. I guess the mindset can’t be changed overnight, but it would be nice if someone listened to me.”

We reached out to the Parks Department and did not get an answer. We will update this story if we do.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Manhattan Community Board 2 Committee Meeting on SoHo Bike Lanes

|
Remember the push for a bike lane on Houston Street? On Tuesday, March 13, the NYC Department of Transportation will present and seek community feedback on: Proposal for new Bleecker and Prince Street bike lanes and routes Lower Manhattan Transit Priority Plan Attend the meeting to show that you support bicycling and transit improvements in Lower Manhattan.

Manhattan Community Board 3 Meeting About New Bike Lane

|
Manhattan Community Board 3’s Transportation Committee is holding a public meeting on the new bike lanes on Grand Street in the Lower East Side. The Community Board’s pdf-formatted agenda lists this as an "informational presentation by the Department of Transportation on Grand Street Bicycle Facility Design." From Transportation Alternatives: In November, the NYC Department of Transportation added a grand […]

DOT Rolls Out the New Lower Manhattan Crosstown Bike Route

|
The street re-surfacing men and machinery were out in force in Soho last night. Houston Street Bike Safety Initiative Director Ian Dutton snapped this photo on Prince Street. Once the street is repaved, the Department of Transportation will stripe the hotly debated Prince and Bleecker Street bike lanes. Lower Manhattan’s newest east-west bike route is […]