Bike lane plan hits bump: Orthodox Jews fear intrusion
The New York Daily News
By Maureen Fan James Rutenberg

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Borough Park's Orthodox Jewish community is in an uproar over a city plan to lay bicycle lanes there, saying it will clog roads, endanger kids and bring "immodestly dressed people" cycling through the area.

Residents fear bedlam will be unleashed on their already- congested streets if the neighborhood is used to link the existing bicycle paths in Prospect Park and Shore Parkway.

They predict cyclists will tear through the residential side streets, endangering yeshiva students getting on and off school buses.

And they're concerned the moral values of the heavily religious locals will be threatened by scantily clad riders, particularly in summer.

"It's analogous to having an X-rated movie theater on the block," said Morton Pupko, chair of the transportation committee of Community Board 12 which covers the area.

"In our community, women's dresses go up to the knee, the sleeves go up to the elbow. They do not want their children exposed to cultures that are objectionable."

The proposal is part of the Giuliani administration's bicycle master plan, which aims to connect all five boroughs with bike routes.

The 5-foot-wide bike lanes would pass through Borough Park westbound on 41st St. and eastbound on 44th St., where they are proposed to run from Seventh to 16th Aves.

On 41st and 44th Sts., 10 feet are allotted for one-way motor traffic. Parked cars are allowed 8 feet on one side and 7 feet on the other.

The bike lanes are to be placed between traffic and the parked cars to the motorists' left.

"This is totally impractical for our community," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Borough Park). "Our office has been flooded with calls about this."

Hundreds also crammed the community board's transportation committee meeting earlier this week to protest the plan.

Councilman Noach Dear, chairman of the City Council's transportation committee, said the proposal was "at best insensitive and at worst an insult to the community."

But bicycle advocates yesterday applauded the city's pro-cycle initiative and said such violent opposition to a bike lane was unfathomable.

"Cars by far cause much greater harm to people than bicycles," said Gian-Claudia Sciara of Transportation Alternatives.

"It's irrational to be making such a stink about bikes." As for scantily clad people, Sciara said, they can already come through the neighborhood in cars, subways or on foot so why pick on cyclists?

Nevertheless, the Department of Transportation seemed to heed the cries of the Borough Park residents and backed away from ramming implementation through.

"Certainly, community support is key to the success of implementing bike routes and we will review the community's concerns closely," said DOT spokesman Bob Leonard.

In March, Borough Park residents blocked film giant Miramax from shooting a movie about a Hasidic woman in their neighborhood.

They said the outdated costumes worn by the actors made fun of religious people.

And two years ago, Borough Park politicians were instrumental in banning Calvin Klein advertisements of barely dressed children from the city's buses and bus shelters.

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