DOT's 2-way protected bike lanes project causing controversy in Greenpoint

A project by the city's Department of Transportation to bring two-way protected bike lanes to Greenpoint in stirring controversy.

The city is planning to install two-way protected bike lanes in Greenpoint to improve safety and access to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Some cyclists say it's an improvement that's definitely needed – but some say it will hurt local businesses.

Bike New York's Jon Orcutt tells News 12 the current bike lanes pose a problem. "If you come up to this point where it goes from two-way to sort of one-way across the street and you're not expecting it, and you often go against traffic and you see some cyclists doing that a lot right here and that's not safe," said Orcutt.

Steve Rosenberg, the owner of Pops Popular Clothing on Franklin Street, tells News 12 that when the city removed parking in front of his store years ago, he lost 60 % of his business.

"It will cripple my business where I will no longer be able to continue," said Rosenburg. He says he's not at all opposed to bike lanes, he just believes a more advanced solution is needed.

In a statement, a DOT spokesperson tells News 12, "We met with businesses along the project corridor, including the owner of Pops Popular Clothing, to better understand their needs for loading and operations. We are updating part of the design and plan to present these changes to CB1 next week."