Oct. 27, 2014 By Michael Florio
Community Board 1 voted against the placement of a bicycle corral outside a bar/restaurant in Dutch Kills last Tuesday.
The proposal called for a corral– with room for eight bicycles–to be located outside Dutch Kills Centraal, a gastro pub situated at 38-40 29th Street. However, the corral, would result in the loss of a parking space.
Community Board 1 said its decision was largely based on the feedback it received from nearby residents. The board said it put the matter up for a vote by circulating voter cards in Dutch Kills buildings – as well at this month’s Dutch Kills Civic Association meeting.
Robert Piazza, who is the chairman of Community Board 1’s Transportation Committee, said that the majority of those residents who voted were against it. He said the vote was 90 for the corral and 116 against.
Therefore, he said, the transportation committee opposed to.
The full board heard the recommendation and 15 members decided to vote against it while 9 for it.
Dominic Stiller, the owner of Dutch Kills Centraal, was the leading advocate for the corral. He said that the board did not give him a fair chance to present his plan.
“There is a real backlash against bicyclists from those who are afraid of losing their parking spots,” he said. “They would rather see bicycles jammed up against the pedestrian sidewalk.”
Stiller questioned the transparency of the 116 vs 90 vote. He said that each vote–containing the resident’s name and address– should be made public. He said the community board excluded some valid votes from people who live in nearby neighborhoods.
“[CB1] arbitrarily threw out a lot of positive comments from people that work in the area and that’s unfair,” he said. “They live in other areas but work here and their votes should count.”
Furthermore, “They are not letting anyone see the results,” he said
However, Hartmann said that many voters wanted their information to be kept confidential. “I am not going to give out the names and addresses of the people who voted against him. I don’t think that’s fair,” she said.
Stiller also said that there were not enough CB1 board members at the meeting to ensure a proper vote– as there were only 23 out of the 50 members in attendance at the time of the vote.
Despite their being a lack of a quorum, a quorum is only required on votes concerning land use matters, said Lucille Hartmann, Community Board 1 district manager,
Jean Cawley, a member of the Dutch Kills Civic Association and Stiller’s wife, addressed the board stating that the bike coral would encourage bike riding, which is a healthy alternative to driving and decreases pollution.
“I want my community to be more livable,” she said.“Making bicycling easier, safer and more convenient will improve everyone’s quality of life.”
Vinicio Donato, Chairman of CB1, questioned Cawley if she believes bicyclists should have to follow the same traffic rules as automobiles, stating that from what he had witnessed “bicyclist have no regards for an automobile and do not follow traffic laws.”
Cawley said it would be up to the police to enforce traffic laws upon bicyclists, and added that saying no to everything bicycle related is not the answer.
One board member said that it was not fair to ask question about the actions of other riders.
After the meeting, Cawley wrote to the Transportation Commission Polly Trottenberg, Streetsblog reported, stating that “Queens CB1 is decidedly ‘anti-bike’” and that “I feel disenfranchised by their constant ‘no’ votes to anything that would increase or improve bicycling infrastructure and safety.”
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13 Comments
Let it be known The Dutch Kills area of LIC is NOT anti bike, however we are opposed to any parking taken away. The area welcomes Citi Bike a perfect spot would be Northern Blvd and 39th Ave. one block from Centraal and the N/Q train station. We also are in support of bike parking stations on sidewalks. We have fought long and hard with developers who are constructing new buildings in the DK area to include a parking plan. All this talk about CB1 and Dutch Kills being anti bike is hogwash.
Look below 200 plus bike docs proposed and not one lost parking spot. Citi-bike knows what they are doing!! Dutch Kills Centraal’s idea just didn’t make sense. Put bike racks on the sidewalk and be done with it. LEAVE OUR PARKING ALONE Dutch Kills Centraal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIC docking stations
Center of 48th Avenue near Vernon Boulevard – This station will have 31 docks and will be located in a no-parking area of the street)
Center of Vernon Boulevard near 50th Avenue (Vernon Mall) – This station will have 31 docks and will be located in a public park or plaza.
North side of 45th Road near 11th Street (Murray Playground) – This station will have 27 docks and will be located on the sidewalk.
South side of 46th Avenue near Jackson Avenue – This station will have 23 docks and will be located in a no-parking area of the street.
South side of 44th Drive near Jackson Avenue – This station will have 35 docks and will be located on private property (pending)
West side of 21st Street near 43rd Avenue – This station will have 23 docks and will be located on the sidewalk.
West side of 21st Street near Queens Plaza North – This station will have 31 docks and will be located on the sidewalk.
South side of Queens Plaza North near Crescent Street – This station will have 31 docks and will be located on the sidewalk.
East side of 31st Street near Thomson Avenue – This station will have 27 docks and will be located in a no-parking area of the street.
West side of 2nd Street near 54th Avenue (Hunters Point Ferry Terminal) – This station will have 31 docks and will be located on private property (pending)
Who granted you free parking for your car? And would that person grant bikes free parking too?
city bike doesn’t take up parking spaces in a lot of cases. Removing parking is not the answer. Put the bike docks in a no parking/standing zone. Never take away parking spots for bikes. You will have more traffic with people looking for parking. It’s been proven time and again. the less parking the more traffic
Since we don’t have CitiBike, a little more bike friendly infrastructure in commercial areas would be fantastic. A few of these on Vernon, maybe one on 21st by PS1, and one or two on Center would go a long way.
It’s ridiculous that this is being blocked. I’ve ridden my bike to Dutch Kills Centraal for a bite to eat, and yes, it’s a pain in the ass that there was nowhere to lock up. The blanket opposition that CB1 is exercising here over a single parking spot is key example of why a lot of the newer LIC residents (who are also voters) feel like we aren’t progressing as a “happening” neighborhood. No backyard space. Fine. But you won’t even allow a place for people to lock up their bikes?
You would think in a place called Dutch Kills LIC, Queens more people would support Dutch culture. I do enjoy riding my bike in the hood. It’s good we have a few bike lanes in the near hood.
CB = douches.
Biking is good.
Do some idiot bikers disregard bikes? yes. Is that a reason for some guy to oppose all green infrastructure saying bikes? no
Struggling to follow Donato: that one time she witnessed a bicyclist do something illegal and it is relevant to this decision.
Just bizarre.
This is so stupid. Of course there should be biking areas to park. One more reason this neighborhood is a dirty political inbred vestige of some 1978 queens that doesn’t exist anymore.
Why is Stiller demanding to make the voter information public? That should be kept confidential.
Jackson Ave. traffic has become crazy over the past year. I now take the longer route rather than deal with Jackson Ave. I think encouraging bicyclists in any respect is dangerous.
Shady!