Last Week in Chuck Schumer

Now that so many media outlets from blogs to TV stations are making the connection between Senator Chuck Schumer and Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, here’s a quick roundup of the week in Chuck.

Group Demands Citywide Bike Lane Moratorium, Gothamist, 2/23/11

The well-connected Park Slope group Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes—whose members include former NYC DOT commissioner (and wife of Chuck Schumer) Iris Weinshall and former Sanitation Commissioner Norman Steisel—are calling for a moratorium on new bike lane construction throughout NYC.

Prospect Park Lane Bike Opponents Support Moratorium on All Bike Lanes, Transportation Nation, 2/22/11

Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes was formed as the two-way protected bike lane along Prospect Park West was being installed last spring. The group, which represents many Prospect Park West residents, has criticized the city for what it sees as insufficient community outreach  and too little data collection before installing the lane.  Its supporters including Brooklyn College Dean Louise Hainline, former Deputy Mayor Norman Steisel, former city DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, and her husband, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.

Bloomberg and Schumer Face Off in the Great Brooklyn Bike War, Huffington Post, 2/22/11

Senator Schumer, who lives alongside the park and likes to cycle himself, has challenged the reserved bike lane. Schumer’s wife, Iris Weinshall, a former head of Bloomberg’s DOT, is part of a group, Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, threatening to sue the city to force adjustments.

A New Take on the Prospect Park West Bike Lanes: Compromise, Park Slope Patch, 2/21/11

The groups, which include high-powered members such as former Sanitation Commissioner Norman Steisel and Iris Weinshal, former Transportation Commissioner and wife of Senator Charles Schumer, have threatened taking the bike lane debate to court, but said they hope it doesn’t come to that.

If you find more out there, please let me know by leaving a link in the comments.  For now, I’m not including anything that goes up on Streetsblog.