Church & State

I'm very grateful for the bike-lane blossoming that has happened under DOT Commish Janette Sadiq-Khan but along with Gothamist and Transportation Alternatives, what really gets my goat is the flagrant disregard by various car-drivers (both official and non-official), as well as the lack of enforcement to keep them clear.

A really egregious example is right around the corner from me, on Henry Street, in Brooklyn Heights. Every Sunday, the members of the First Presbyterian Church park their cars for several hours down the length of Henry, between Clark and Love Lane. You would think that would be a lot of revenue for the city, right?

Wrong.

Apparently, they have some 'understanding' with the 84^th Precinct, whereby if they put a sign in their window that they are attending church, they don't get ticketed. Last year, I traded some e-mails with the interim pastor, to no avail, and in June I raised the issue at the community precinct meeting. The captain agreed that praying to God in a specific building on Sundays does not confer special parking privileges, and he would 'talk to them'. Well, you can see the results.

Calls to 311 produce nothing either, and meanwhile, cyclists on this busy stretch of street are forced to share their lane with cars.

The video is from this past Sunday, when more than 20 cars blocked the lane. I shot it a few minutes after services had ended, so there were actually a couple of empty spots.

 

 
 

Comments

[Hotjobs]

Happy New Year! The author write more I liked it.

[Jack M]

I'm not going to hate on the Christians, but really, what gives them any more rights than a car parked illegally anywhere else? If you are really dedicated to your religion, I am sure you will find a way to worship without infringing upon the rights of others. Go worship. Good for you if that is your thing, but we a a nation of laws, not a nation dictated by religion. WWJD? He would not jeopardize the safety of others from what I hear. Heck, he went everywhere on a donkey I think, not a Mercedes.

[Rachel Beaton]

There is actually a lovely trifecta of issues here. One, the bike line is totally blocked which is illegal. Two, cars are usually parked half in the bike lane/half on the sidewalk which is also illegal. Three, the fact that there are cars parked on both sides make Henry Street a tricky path for emergency vehicles which should be illegal.

It is utterly ridiculous to give the parishioners a pass because they are attending church. Church is just a destination and those who attend church are not more deserving of special privileges than those that don't. If attending this church is so important to them, then they can park in the parking garage on Montague Street or take public transit.

[buy viagra]

How can you remove any mention of Thomas Jefferson?! He is one of the most prominent figures in American history, but apparently it's blasphemous to mention a Deist that advocated the separation of church & state. I wonder if they also removed any mention of Benjamin Franklin from the textbooks. He was also a Deist. American conservatives are absolutely nuts. You whitewash your own history just because it doesn't represent the narrative you want told.

[Brooklyn Heights - Home to Illegal Parking]

http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/14918#comments

[P.]

Kristen,
FWIW, very informally, I believe a lot of the people who attend that service don't live in the neighborhood. Lots of Jersey plates too.

[kristen]

the people above clearly are drivers, not bikers. if they hopped on a bike regularly, they would understand the dangers of biking in traffic. safety should be a priority over parking. besides, one should be going to church in one's community, one would think, and seeing what a small community brooklyn heights is, shouldn't everyone be able to bike/walk anyway?

[KG]

Hannible, it was probably the same idiot that ordered the fire hyrdrants put right next to the curb.

Those hydrants should all be in Jersey or something... you know, so that we can park wherever we want.

[Hannible]

I would like to know who the idiot was that ordered the bike lane right near the curb!

[The What]

Please stop whining.... Go around the cars...

The What

Someday this war is gonna end..

[Mumu]

Cmon, got to give a break to religions Christians. Heights is a safe place because of Church going Christians. It is Sunday, everyone should be in Church not Biking!!!... Be a good Christian or convert to one.