A Queens judge ruled Friday that the city’s decision to build a bike lane on 31st Street violated proper procedures and ordered a stretch of the roadway restored to its original state, following construction efforts this summer.
The ruling is an unusual legal victory for plaintiffs in the decades-long fight between local businesses and the steady expansion of bike lanes throughout New York City. Similar lawsuits challenging bike and bus lanes are routinely dismissed by judges who tend to defer to the city Department of Transportation's authority to redesign streets, as outlined in a Streetsblog story about the ruling.
The transportation department had described the project — which called for protected bike lanes on both sides of 31st Street running from 36th Avenue to Newtown Avenue — as a “safety project” and part of its Vision Zero program to reduce traffic fatalities. The city identified the corridor as among the top 10% most dangerous in Queens, citing approximately 190 injuries between 2019 and 2024, including 12 serious injuries and two deaths.
But when work on a stretch of the bike lane began in August, a group of businesses and a local school sued the city, arguing the transportation department had rushed the redesign and ignored potential dangers for pedestrians — especially schoolchildren, the elderly and people with disabilities — who would have to cross a busy bike lane.
Among the plaintiffs were Astoria fixtures like Parisi Bakery, King Souvlaki and Sotto la Luna. St. Demetrios School, a private Greek-American School with roughly 800 students ranging from preschool through 12th grade, also joined the suit.
The group also argues that limited access to loading areas would harm businesses and create access issues for emergency responders. They said the plan prioritized meeting the city’s bike-lane mileage targets over real safety needs.
Though the transportation department argued it had conducted extensive outreach efforts at the outset, state court Judge Chereé Buggs appeared to side with plaintiffs on each of their concerns, according to the Friday ruling.
The agency didn’t comply with mandatory consultation and certification requirements with the Department of Small Business Services or the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, the judge said. She also found the city had not adequately contended with the school’s concerns, calling the transportation department’s proposed safety measures — rumble strips, signage and stop signs — insufficient.
Buggs gave particular weight to warnings from the Fire Department, which conducted a field demonstration showing that ladder trucks would be unable to reach upper floors under the new design due to the elevated subway structure overhead. The transportation department "did not meaningfully reconcile its plan" with FDNY's safety concerns, the judge wrote.
The Department of Transportation referred media to the city’s Law Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
