Anthony Koulizakis, owner of Z.A. & D. Service Station, says a partially installed bike lane on 31st Street in Queens was already damaging business.

“It has increased traffic here like 20-fold,” said Koulizakis. “You can’t drive down the street anymore at all. And I’ve had people actually call my business to say that this deters them from visiting.”

What You Need To Know

  • The city’s Department of Transportation began bike lane installation in August despite objections from the local firehouse, a school and businesses along 31st Street

  • A judge first issued a temporary restraining order barring the DOT from continuing and ultimately decided in favor of business owners, ordering the DOT to remove the work that was done

  • Safe-street advocates say similar streets with elevated subway tracks have gotten the same treatment and successfully reduced traffic injuries, while businesses are asking for other safety measures

Already, cars repopulated what would have been the bike lane after a judge Friday ruled the city’s Department of Transportation did not consider concerns the FDNY expressed about the bike lane hindering ladders from reaching top floors, already complicated by elevated subway tracks.

The judge also wrote that the DOT’s argument did not outweigh the concerns from the St. Demetrios School for students having to contend with the bike lane to get to class. 

“First responders should be listened to, not ignored,” Joseph Mirabella, president of the 31st Street Business Association, which sued the city, said. “Our children’s safety should come first, not lest our city’s small businesses should be supported, not antagonize proposed safety improvements should improve, not reduce safety.”

Judge Cheree Buggs notes in her decision that while the DOT “went through the motions of consultation as required by the City Administrative Code, it ultimately disregarded substantive safety feedback” but later noted the FDNY said “with the channelization design and enforcement, the corridor will remain workable for emergency response.”

Safe-street advocates say the ruling is a mistake. 

“This is a horrible tragedy,” Ben Furnas, executive director of street safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, said. “The court ordered DOT to take away a proven safety treatment that we know would have made the neighborhood safer. And New Yorkers deserve a lot better.”

Furnas says this street design has been done on similar streets and reduced traffic injuries.

The DOT made 31st Street from Newtown Avenue to 36th Avenue a Vision Zero priority corridor, citing two fatalities and nearly 200 injuries there from 2019 to 2024.

“The judge was trying to replace her own judgment. For what? [The] DOT is professionally trained to do,” Furnas said. “And we don’t think that’s appropriate. And I think we’re fairly confident that on appeal, will prevail.”

But it’s unclear whether the city will appeal the decision. The law department says that it is reviewing the case and evaluating next steps.