Elected representatives at the local, state, and federal level have had enough of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s “illegal,” “dangerous” and “disrespectful” theft of one block of the 10th Avenue protected bike lane.
In a strongly worded letter sent to the DEA on Tuesday, a panoply of pols slammed the federal agency for installing weighted barriers on 10th Avenue between 16th and 17th street to create a private parking zone for DEA workers — a practice that denies New Yorkers a new, state-of-the-art wide bike lane that the city Department of Transportation installed after full outreach to a community bereft from thousands of preventable crashes, and more than 1,500 injuries in the last few years.
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“Your agency’s unilateral blockade of this single block, using cones, barricades, and placarded vehicles, has created a dangerous gap in this critical network. Cyclists are forced into vehicular traffic lanes, negating the very safety improvements the community and city fought to achieve,” read the letter, which was spearheaded by Council Member Erik Bottcher, but also signed by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Rep. Jerry Nadler, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and Assembly Member Tony Simone. All of those Democratic pols supported the bike lane project during its years of planning and implementation.
The narcotic enforcement agency’s New York headquarters is located at 99 10th Avenue — and that’s where you’ll find what Streetsblog has dubbed, “This is your bike lane on drugs”: orange construction barricades and cones placed by the agency keep cyclists away and to allow DEA officers to park illegally against the curb. The practice has been going on since at least 2009, records show.
In 2009, when there wasn’t a bike lane to be found, the DEA still used cones to reserve the street for their personal use. Photo: Google Street View
The DEA’s DIY redesign turns the new protected cycling route into a harrowing experience for bike riders and delivery workers, forcing them to swerve into traffic on the busy 10th Avenue, where drivers are no longer expecting cyclists to share the road.
Beyond the single block that DEA turns into a private parking lot, the wide 10th Avenue bike lane provides safe, uninterrupted passage between 14th and 53rd streets. Beyond depriving cyclists and delivery workers the safety for which they fought for years, the DEA’s theft sets a bad example, the letter argues.
“This action sends the wrong message to the community that DEA does not feel bound by the same civic responsibilities as its neighbors. That is not respectful of the residents, businesses, and workers of Chelsea and beyond, who rely on this corridor for their safety and livelihoods,” the letter reads.
Cyclists are forced into traffic because of the DOT’s blockade of the bike lane.Photo: Sophia Lebowitz
But the city DOT, which promotes its bike lane as an exemplar of its urban design toolkit, won’t say why the lane was never painted green on the block where the DEA building is located.
The DEA, which did not comment for this story, had previously told Streetsblog that it was not informed about the 10th Avenue project, which is simply not true; the DOT said it tried to work with the DEA on a plan that would satisfy all parties.
In addition, the DOT has successfully worked with other first responder agencies, like the FDNY and NYPD, to accommodate emergency operational needs, the letter points out.
“Federal law enforcement agencies, like all occupants of our city, must respect local laws, regulations, and public safety infrastructure. Blocking a designated right-of-way is not only unnecessary but also illegal under New York City traffic and street use rules,” the letter reads.
“We urge you to immediately cease the obstruction of the Tenth Avenue protected bike lane and to work with the Department of Transportation to address your operational needs in a way that does not compromise public safety or undermine a vital community project,” said the politicians.
Though less formal in nature, Streetsblog Editor in Chief Gersh Kuntzman undertook his own protest of the DEA’s actions, smoking marijuana in front of the building as part of this video takedown:
Neither the city DOT nor the Drug Enforcement Administration responded to Streetsblog’s request for comment for this story.