“Unwarranted, illegal, and reckless”; Statement from Transportation Alternatives after Adams Administration Unveils Plan to Make Bedford Avenue More Dangerous

The Adams administration announced its plan to rip up three blocks of the new bike lane on Bedford Avenue. 

Protected bike lanes in New York City have made streets safer for everyone, reducing speeding, crashes, and the number of people killed or seriously injured by 29% for all pedestrians and 39% for senior pedestrians.

Last year, an SUV driver hit and killed a 10-year-old-girl just one block from the Bedford Avenue bike lane. Since installation, injuries have dropped and no one has been killed on or around the area.

BROOKLYN, NY — Today, the Adams administration revealed their plans to remove the protected bike lane on the northernmost three blocks of the Bedford Avenue bike lane. 

Bedford Avenue was redesigned last year. Since this redesign, which included turning a paint-only bike lane into a protected bike lane, the avenue has become much safer. Fatalities, serious injuries, and total injuries have fallen in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. People walking and driving have seen significant safety benefits; pedestrian injuries fell 10% and motorist injuries fell 42%. In 2024, a pedestrian was hit and killed by two separate drivers, and no one has been killed in 2025.

Statement from Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives: 

“This is unwarranted, illegal, and reckless. In ripping out three blocks of the Bedford Avenue safety project, including the protected bike lane, Mayor Adams is undermining the safety of every person that uses the street and putting countless Brooklyn families at risk.

“The Bedford Avenue bike lane didn’t originate out of thin air. This very same administration studied it, decided it was a good idea, and built it. Suddenly removing the bike lane is also illegal — under Intro 417, passed last year, New York City requires notice and potential community board hearing on the addition or removal of a bike lane. There is no other way to bike safely from much of Central Brooklyn to North Brooklyn — and with this announcement, the mayor is demanding Bed-Stuy residents put themselves at risk just to get home. 

“We know how to keep people safe on the streets of New York City. The street and infrastructure improvements that save lives aren’t secret or obscure — there’s best practices backed up with decades of research, and today, Mayor Adams is ignoring settled facts and clear data to put New Yorkers at risk. No matter what this administration wants to say or pretend, protected bike lanes reduce crashes, injuries, and speeding, and save the lives of families in cars, on foot and on bikes.”

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