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For at least a year now, the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights has been giving parishioners parking placards for their cars when parking in the bike lane on Henry Street. The placards explain to police that occupants of the vehicle are conducting "Church Business." One local resident, Peter Kaufman, believes "they have some 'understanding' with the 84th Precinct, whereby if they put a sign in their window that they are attending church, they don't get ticketed." On his blog Ink Lake, Kaufman posted video of this epic bike lane block during last Sunday's service [SPOILER: they're parked along the entire block]:
We called First Presbyterian Church, and a woman who would only identify herself as Annie told us, "When people come to church, they just take the sign from a stack inside the church. You can park in the bike lane anywhere on Henry between Pierrepont and Clark and the police won't ticket you, as long as you have that on your dashboard. But only during Sunday service."
At the 84th Precinct, Officer Brandon Bunting fielded our call and admitted that "it's a sensitive issue. I live in Harlem, and sometimes people park three cars wide there. But you're not allowed to block the bike lane, placard or no placard; if some kid is riding his bike there and has to go out in traffic, it could be bad. At the same time, it's a sensitive community issue and we try to work out a compromise." Another officer said, "For years we have allowed people to park in front of the church while they worship."
This isn't the first time the parking placard controversy has been injected with religion; for years police on the Upper East Side looked the other way when employees of Park East synagogue used bogus DIY parking placards for years to park illegally.
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saying anything about jews makes you an anti-semite, anti-semite.
Fuck the bike lane, it is there as a guide and is a good thing, but people need a fucking place to park, like they have for many years. I ride my bike a few days a week, and sometimes I ride in cars, like most humans.
Yeah, I get it, we can only call you something if you do it all the time; i.e. "driver" and "bicyclist" are out. I'll go with mouth breather.
Yeah-- what is this the LAW or something? Like sidewalks--sure, I walk on 'em, but if I feel like parking my car, what, I'm supposed to go find LEGAL parking? Psh.
fuck church. ticket these assholes.
Good reporting, JDS.
I call BS on this. If you live in Brooklyn Heights, you walk to church. If you don't live in Brooklyn Heights, you go to your own nearest church in your own neighborhood.
except it's not BS, because it happens every sunday. could it be possible that an old grandmother used to worship there for thirty years until she moved yo bay ridge in the early 2000s to cash out (or because rents were skyrocketing)?
Some day I'll get pics of Jay St in front of the courthouses. The bike lane is just a de facto double parking lane for about 5 blocks. Feel free to pull out of back up without a glance.
Um, no. Brooklyn Heights is not a neighborhood "regular poor folks" have ever really been pushed out of. They never really lived there to begin with. More likely they're driving over from Park Slope where they scored a bigger brownstone.
Idiot...That's my my best friend's mother bought her TOWNHOUSE in Brooklyn Heights in the late 80's for about 80,000?
/\ /\ haha, sounds like somebody needs to go to church. somebody give this guy a parking spot stat.
BTW--Presbyterians do NOT have "Mass". Call it "Divine Worship", "Service", whatever--but not Mass. That's an RC/Episcopalian/Lutheran word.
(This churchgoers-blocking-traffic mess is on Vermilyea Avenue in Manhattan, too--just a few blocks from a firehouse.)
WWJP?
My Atheist placard still works in the UWS.
I love that comment!!! Can I get some sort of placard to do something illegal and dangerous for performing my atheist activities? It is totally dangerous to be parking in the bike lane because bikers have to go right into traffic - I can't stand insensitive drivers!!
A bike lane is a traffic lane, like any other traffic lane. This practice should be put to a stop. If the church wants to give its parishioners a place to park, they can build a parking lot/garage. Perhaps the parishioners could go ahead and just ride their bikes to church; that would solve the problem.
Bike lanes are not "guides". They are legal traffic lanes that only bicycles are allowed to travel in. In CA, you can get a ticket for operating a gas-powered vehicle (car or motorcycle, etc) in the bike lane. The problem is that when a bike lane ubruptly ends because of an obstruction like this, the cyclist then has to swerve into traffic. While riding in traffic is not an issue for a cyclist, when you suddenly have to dart into the right-hand lane, it puts you at risk. Especially since now you are between parked cars (that shouldn't be parked in the bike lane) and cars that are eager to pass you and will do so as closely as they can. You can quickly get squashed.
Furthermore, shouldn't these good Christians respect the law and not park where it is illegal to? It seems against their practices, to me, to break the law.
Amen!
It seems against their practices, to me, to break the law.
You haven't met very many religious people, have you? The only laws they care about are the ones in their little books, and only those when it's convenient or when they can use them to oppress others while screaming "We're being persecuted for our beliefs!"
They'll obey the law only if it gets etched in stone by a flaming finger. "Thou shalt not park in bike lanes!" But maybe not even then.
Whatever happen to separation of church and station?
"for years police on the Upper East Side looked the other way when employees of Park East synagogue used bogus DIY parking placards for years"
So using the process of reduction, that means it's happened "for years and years"?
Oh snap, a posting on Gothamist about a blocked bike lane in Brooklyn. Now I've seen everything.
I am pro bike lane, but I honestly don't think this is a big deal at all.
First of all, in this case it's for a limited time on what looks to be a secondary street (i.e. not so hard to just go around the cars!)
Secondly, as the article points out, in other neighborhoods like Harlem, cars routinely double-park all over the place during church services.
Also - when I ride home up Fred Douglas (8th Avenue), there are ALWAYS cars parked in that bike lane -- apparently this is because there is a mosque around the corner and there are services at that time. At least that's what the local precinct told me.
sooo... let's pick our battles more carefully, shall we? There are a lot more pressing concerns for cyclists than this particular issue.
I think the complaint is that police are allowing it, not that its happening in general. Sure, if you need to park in the bike lane to go to services go for it, but be prepared to risk a ticket just like everyone who double parks to grab a burger or pick someone up.
I know - but I am saying that I personally think it's okay for the police to turn a blind eye on this since double-parking for church services (along with no meter feeding in metered parking spaces) seems to be the accepted norm anyway.
Of course, I'm almost never on my bike on Sunday mornings anyway :)
People are probably worried that if this is allowed to happen, more people will ask for more ways to get around the tickets and the bike lanes will become less safe elsewhere.
Sunday bike riding by ALL churches usually includes pulling into traffic to avoid cars double parked and parked in the bike lane. On Friday evenings the same parking frenzy in front of mosques. Same on Saturdays in front of synagogues.
Suppose that when I get squished by a truck there I'll go to heaven because this illegal parking is sanctioned by God?
And what's up no parking in front of religious institutions everyday -- I guess God doesn't want staff to look for parking like everyone else?
Actually, Friday evenings and Saturdays are the only time you're safe riding in 'Sid neighborhoods. But be extra careful that last half hour before sunset!
If you get run over in front of a Mosque, do you get the 72 black-eyed virgins?
If you punch people who make bigoted nonsequitors, do I get some extra figs or whatever? Or uh, what is it Christian's want, extra blood or whatever?
I was riffing off stripes' post. I guess it's a good thing I just wrote a comment instead of drawing a cartoon!
What happens if there's a fire on any block where double-parked cars have blocked access for a fire truck? Are the car owners up to being sued by the people whose apartments get toasted (and might not otherwise have been)?
You're all preaching to the choirs... da dun dun chi!
I'm the writer of Ink Lake.
For those interested, I've updated my blog with some more info.
all religious institutions should pay taxes and shouldn't be treated any different than any business.
the us shouldn't be a religious state at all.