Mayor Mamdani's Bedford Avenue Blunder: Why Is This Deadly Bike Lane Still Unsafe?

The Mamdani-O-Meter Stays Frozen

You may have noticed that Streetsblog's trademarked "Mamdani-O-Meter" has been frozen at zero — as in zero days since Mayor Mamdani last disappointed the livable streets movement — for weeks now. We did that to protest his failure to restore protection to the three lanes of Bedford Avenue that are completely unsafe — upholding, rather than tearing down, this festering sore on the body of Eric Adams's legacy.

And we say that with all due respect; as you can see from our other great trademarked feature — "A Measure of Success" — Mamdani has made good on so many of his promises to restart or even improve projects that had been waylaid by his predecessor.

But there's that nagging Bedford Avenue question: why does the mayor, who wants our streets to be the envy of the world, allow a critical bike route to be so unsafe as to make not a single resident of any country jealous? So I sent Kevin Duggan to the mayor's presser on Thursday to ask once again what is going on:

Duggan: You've restarted a lot of Adams-era bike lane projects that the last mayor canceled or ripped out. The only one remaining is the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane. You've told me "discussions are ongoing." But what's left to discuss there?

Mamdani's answer was a lesson for all aspiring pols: Bedford, he seemed to say, how can you ask me about Bedford, when I'm doing such a good job? Here's his full answer:

Those discussions are ongoing. What I would also say, as a slight addendum, is that some of the bike lane projects that we have restarted that the prior administration had indefinitely paused, we also expanded the scope of those projects. … The bike lane that was proposed in Astoria that was then paused in litigation is one that we've actually been able to expand. And that, I think, is incredibly important because safety should be something that every New Yorker is afforded, no matter what street they're on, no matter what mode of transit they're using. And, personally, as someone who used to avoid biking down 31st Street, purely out of safety concerns, going out of my way to try and stay safe as a cyclist, it's incredibly important that that project is also moving forward.

In Other News

• It's increasingly clear that the bill of goods that Andrew Byford sold President Trump has come due, and the Penn Station rehab plan has fallen apart. But, man, MTA CEO Janno Lieber really dunked on Byford yesterday, accusing the former Train Daddy of going "full MAGA." (Gothamist)

• If robo-taxis ever really take off in New York State, you'll want to revisit this article about their parking needs. (The Inference)

• Sorry, BARNYs, but you're the dinosaur: Citi Bikes are how real Born And Raised New Yorkers get around. (Gothamist)

• It took more than a year and a half, but cops say they've caught the hit-and-walk-away driver who killed Darryl Mathis Jr. last year. (NYDN)

• Great minds? The Daily News followed my "Old Man Vertical" video about the city's new Brit-inflected trucks. Here's my video if you're interested:

• DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn went to the New York Law breakfast and said that he's still considering reducing the amount of parking the city gives away for free, which is something that we got Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan to say at one of those very same breakfasts months ago. (amNY, straight; NY Post, car-brained)

• The Post reported on the arrest of cyclist Geoffrey Radbill's killer — and had a normal news lede to counter the Daily News's bizarre take a day earlier.

• This boring is exciting: The MTA is starting environmental review on the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway. (amNY)

• Lazy drivers have themselves to blame for the demise of the reduced alternate-side-of-the-street-parking pilot in Prospect Heights. (Streetsblog, Gothamist)

• Streetsblog is high on Gov. Hochul, who is, indeed, sliding towards re-election.

• If you haven't seen Clarence Eckerson Jr.'s feature-length documentary about the making of the city's "gold standard" open street — now known as Paseo Park — you have another chance: Montclair State University is hosting the New Jersey world premiere of Eckerson's "Close Encounters of the 34th Avenue Kind" (free!) on Oct. 15. Want tickets? Click here.

• And don't miss Streetsblog's big news today.