Results tagged “kent”

The saga of the Kent Avenue bike lane continues! First the Orthodox Satmar Jews in South Williamsburg objected to the old bike lane because of the influx of immodestly-dressed female cyclists, then local merchants complained that customers and delivery trucks had nowhere to park. Barricades were threatened, fake detour signs were put up, and clowns rushed to the scene. Responding to the whining, the DOT ripped up part of Kent and changed it to northbound-only traffic, creating a dedicated bike lane buffered by parking spots. And everyone was happy some were placated!

Yikes! The Brooklyn Paper's police blotter details a kidnapping/mugging in Williamsburg. They report that on May 22 two perps armed with a semi-automatic pistol snatched up a Brooklyn man on Kent and North 9th around 10:30 p.m. While he was in the car (a white four-door sedan with tinted windows), they covered his eyes and emptied his pockets, taking his wallet and cellphone. They then drove to a bank on Broadway and forced the PIN number out of their victim, withdrawing around $200 from his account. Once they were done with him, about a half hour after first picking him up, they dropped him at South 11th Street between Berry and Wythe, leaving him 5 bucks for a cab. The victim managed to flag down a cop on Bedford to report the crime, which the paper says mirrors a similar incident from earlier in the month. In general, it's probably not a good idea to walk alone down the deserted Kent Avenue at night.

    

As we announced on Monday, a group of cycling clowns rode along Kent Avenue in Williamsburg today to protest what they call a growing "anti-bike sentiment in Brooklyn." Organized by Times Up, the ride was a response of sorts to vocal community opposition to the bike lane, which some residents and business owners blame for a sudden dearth of parking. Last month Hasidic Jews in the largely Satmar section of South Williamsburg vowed to protest the bike lane by blocking traffic on Kent.

We continue to receive emails about the controversial Kent Avenue bike lane in Brooklyn, which has become the front line in the battle over bike lanes. On one side are business owners and residents who insist that the new "No Stopping" signs on Kent, installed to accommodate the bike lane, are onerous; on the other side are cyclists who enjoy the sense of a safer commute between north and south Brooklyn, and cherish the hope for a Brooklyn Greenway completely separate from traffic. Here's an email in response to yesterday's story about a cyclist who says Hasidim in South Williamsburg are making good on their promise to obstruct traffic in protest:

Things have gotten pretty terrible in the saga of the Kent Ave. bike lane, at least for the people who live or work on this block. Today I had to drive home my 5 year old daughter from hospital, after she went through surgery last week, it was 6 p.m. when we arrived in front our home at 450 Kent Avenue and it was freezing cold outside, after driving around for 15 minutes, I finally found a halfway illegal parking spot 4 blocks away from my home, I had to walk with my cranky just out of hospital daughter in my hands, all while she was complaining why I had to park so far.

Continue reading "Bike Lane Brouhaha: Officials Backpedal on Kent Ave"

    

Two months ago, Con Ed admitted that the former power plant on Kent Avenue would be demolished (when asked earlier about all the activity at the site, the utility claimed it was just "spring cleaning"), and now it looks like the beautiful, century-old building's final days are here.