Two representatives from the Department of Transportation (DOT), Josh Benson and Ted Wright, and City Council Members Tish James and Stephen Levin joined Fort Greene and Clinton Hill residents living south of Flushing Avenue for a very heated debate about the proposed changes to the Avenue. As part of its Waterfront Greenway initiative, the DOT has proposed adding a two-way bike lane, and eliminating eastbound traffic on Flushing Avenue (between Kent & Navy).

Residents opposing the proposal overwhelmingly outnumbered supporters at the meeting this past Wednesday. Many residents complained that city officials and the DOT have a history of ignoring poor residents in the area. They said that adverse decisions affecting their neighborhood are always made without their input, with officials only showing up after the fact. The implementation of the Sands Street bike lane was used as an example. The Reverend Dr. Mark Taylor of the Church of the Open Door, said the decision is “racist and elitist, only to benefit a few young white new comers, while the streets where ignored for many years when there were only Blacks, Latinos and Jews living in the neighborhood.”

Even though many attending residents passionately voiced their contempt for what the labeled “privileged” cyclist, the real issue is whether the two-way commercial strip should be changed to one-way. Residents voiced their concerns that diverting eastbound traffic to Park Avenue will increase air pollution along that street. Many feel that an increased number of eastbound eighteen-wheelers making the left-turn from Park Avenue under the BQE will cause significant traffic congestion on neighboring streets. There are also safety concerns for the many school kids in the area crossing Park Avenue.

For the tenant of the Navy Yard, the change presents an economical problem. Navy Yard tenants support the greenway and bike lane, but they overwhelming opposes the one-way traffic. John Eddey, VP of Steiner Studios, a one acre movie lot at Washington and Flushing, says that the one-way traffic will make it extremely difficult to meet time sensitive deadlines, which can result in millions of dollars in losses. With the rerouting of the B57 and B69 buses from Flushing Avenue, Navy Yard tenants are also concern about the safety of their employees walking to Park Avenue under the BQE at all hours of the night. Richard Drucker, Senior VP of External Affairs at the Navy Yard said that the overall concern is that one-way traffic will significantly impede the Navy Yard’s economic growth. He feels that one-way traffic would not only make it very difficult to attract new tenants, but it might contribute to losing existing ones.

The DOT’s main concern is the safety of cyclists when eastbound cars make the left-turn over the two-way bike lane. There was a suggestion to eliminate parking on the south-side of the street to make more space. There was also a suggestion for the DOT to create left-turn lanes, and implement signals to stop bikes in both directions when cars are making the left-turn. Both Mr. Benson and Mr. Wright promised that they will revisit the proposal, giving serious consideration to the concerns and suggestions of residents.