The Prospect Park West bike lane has been a contentious issue for the folks in Brooklyn whose neighborhood it runs through. Complaints of increased traffic and light use have been rolling in for weeks since its introduction and many residents along the strip and in the area are trying desperately to get it decommissioned. Over the weekend Transportation Alternatives and a few other advocacy groups got together and had a parade of sorts to demonstrate just how much people really do appreciate the bike lane.
The most interesting part about the bike lane, however is who’s leading the charge in opposition to it and who’s keeping their mouth shut. See, the person leading the charge against it is former transportation commissioner Iris Weinshall. That name doesn’t probably mean much to you all, but to those in New York City, the irony is palpable. See, Iris Weinshall is the wife of Senator Chuck Schumer. If you even know who Schumer is you know how he runs to the camera every weekend (literally, every single weekend) to opine about something in the interest of keeping himself at the forefront of the public conscience. On this issue, however, he’s completely silent. In fact, local media outlets are utterly befuddled by his lack of comments of the issue considering his past of opening his cake hole on everything he could get a camera to listen to him talk about.
Even the Gothamist got in on the act.
Schumer, who has never shown any reticence on other hot topics ranging from abortion to Afghanistan, is apparently too scared to dip his oar into the turbulent waters of the bike lane whirlpool. Which is interesting, because his wife, former NYC DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, has been one of the most forceful opponents of the PPW bike lane. The group she co-founded, Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, even held at least one meeting at the Schumers’ residence.
Pretty interesting stuff, isn’t it?
I find it even more interesting because Schumer is always talking about environmental issues and public transportation issues and how beneficial both are to the city and the country, and yet here we are with a slam dunk of an environmental win that increases the level of safety on a formerly dangerous corridor and makes cycling there more attractive, and the Senator is suddenly mic and camera shy.
I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t pass the sniff test for me.
This, however, is the typical liberal modus operandi. They’re all for sustainability and environmental activism until it affects them. Windmills are fine unless they’re in Martha’s Vineyard. Solar panels are fine as long as we don’t have to see them. “Green” houses are great as long as I can live in a mansion the size of a city block and consume as much power in a month as a family of four does in a year. Airline taxes are great as long as I travel on the public dime. Carbon emissions are bad unless it’s my SUV emitting them.
You can even see it with homeless shelters, as this city has learned many times. If you dare to try and put a homeless shelter in any area that isn’t a poor South Bronx or Harlem area, you can bet your ass the stroller-toting liberals in the area won’t like it, and will haul out their children to demonstrate who would be hurt the most if the shelter is built.
Even the New York Times admits that this is a typical New York thing.
It’ll be interesting to see just how much this city is willing to hold Schumer’s (and his wife’s, for that matter) feet to the fire for his silence on this. My hope is that the pressure won’t let up and Schumer will have to take a hypocritical or poor political position and he will be exposed for the fraud that he is.