אשריך הרב ארי' לייב גלאנץ

Assemblyman Vito Lopez met today with Williamsburg community leaders and Department of Transportation officials in order to arrange for the removal of the Bedford Avenue bike lane in South Williamsburg and the restoration of parking on Kent Avenue.

''Assemblyman Vito Lopez, Rabbi David Niederman (United Jewish Organizations), Brooklyn Borough Commissioner for the Department of Transportation Joseph Palmieri, Rabbi Joseph Menczer, Ian Christner (UJO), David Wallach (DOT), and Rabbi Joseph Goldberger.''

The heavy congestion along that stretch of Bedford Avenue, including pedestrians, school buses, public buses, private, commercial and City vehicles led many local residents to object to the addition of a bike lane. Due to the large number of schools, stores and religious institutions, the community decided to seek the lane's removal. Discussions have been ongoing to try to divert bike traffic to less populated areas of Williamsburg.

The restoration of the parking on Kent Avenue has also been an important issue in the community because residents and businesses were not allowed to park, or even to stop to let their children out in front of schools or deliver packages to a business on the street. The agreement with the Department of Transportation ensures these community needs on Kent Avenue are met and our parking spaces will now be restored.

The installation of the bike lane on Bedford Avenue and the removal of the parking spaces on Kent Avenue have been major issues for the community which are now satisfactorily resolved.

תוקן על ידי על_הגאולה ב- 25/04/2009 1:36:39

VIN News has confirmed the report to be misleading and some sort of very belated April Fool's joke.

According to a spokesman from the office of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who represents a significant part of Williamsburg in Albany, there was no official announcement from his office regarding imminent bike-lane removal. According to Lopez's office, it's an ongoing battle in which there is no new development as of today.

Furthermore, an official DOT spokesman, told VIN News on condition of anonymity, ''These reports are not accurate as of today".

While there have been rumors in Williamsburg of ongoing meetings between the city and the community, as of today there is no confirmed settlement on the removal of the bike lanes.