Woody Allen is waging war on New York’s cyclists, spearheading a campaign to stop the creation of a cycle path in front of his house.

The 80-year-old Manhattan director has lived on the Upper East Side since 2006.

And he has written to his local community association criticising plans to expand the city’s network of cycle paths, accusing cyclists of being lawless and reckless and posing a threat to residents.

“The great amount of cyclists do not obey any safety laws and ride freely at varying speeds on the sidewalks, through stop lights, the wrong way on one-way streets, sometimes lethally,” he wrote.

He insisted the proposed location for the cycle path, on East 70th Street, was too narrow for a bike lane and already congested with school and hospital traffic.

“It is home to many elderly people who comprise most of the residents, and a bike lane for these people is definitely an accident waiting at some point,” he said. He described the extension of the city’s cycle paths as “out of control.”

The proposed cycle path was discussed at a meeting on Wednesday night, which Mr Allen attended.

The director has a long history of objecting to cyclists. In a 2011 interview he said the expansion of cycling was ruining the city.