Disabled Upper West Side residents are suing to block the city’s controversial redesign of West 72nd Street, escalating the battle over a planned protected bike lane there that locals have fiercely opposed.
The complaint, filed Friday in Manhattan federal court, names seven plaintiffs — including a blind woman — who live on the popular main thoroughfare and use wheelchairs, scooters, canes and walkers to get around.
The group says the new street design — which will cut the number of vehicular traffic lanes from four to two while shifting the current buffer of parking away from the curb to install a two-way bike lane — will make them “virtual shut-ins.”
That’s because it will force disabled residents to cross fast-moving bike and e-scooter traffic in the bike lane to now reach taxis, Access-A-Ride, buses and emergency vehicles — a situation they won’t want to attempt for fear of their safety, the suit says.
“The whole concept doesn’t make any sense,” plaintiff lawyer Hartley Bernstein told The Post. “It’s a busy street with 20,000 residents and a large proportion of seniors.
“They could place bike lanes on 73rd street going one direction and one on 71st street going another direction. It would be slightly less convenient for cyclists, but it would not pose such a risk.”
The suit argues that the city Transportation Department’s plan violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and state and Big Apple human-rights laws.
“Because of these dangers, the West 72nd Street Plan will have a chilling effect on the Plaintiffs making them virtual shut-ins,” court papers say.
The two-way bike lane would run adjacent to the street’s north curb between Central Park West and Riverside Drive.
Plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to stop construction, restore the prior street layout and at least $225,000 in damages per plaintiff, plus attorneys’ fees.
Upper West Side residents and business owners have been fighting DOT’s plan at community meetings and held a rally in May to voice their concerns.
The lawsuit joins a broader legal push against Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s e‑bike agenda.
Another lawsuit brought by people injured by reckless e‑bikers challenged Mamdani’s decision to scale back criminal enforcement of e‑bike violations, arguing it has made streets more dangerous for seniors and disabled New Yorkers.
DOT also created a self-inflicted headache for itself in Queens over an alleged dangerous bike-lane plan that locals hate.
Bernstein previously filed a lawsuit over that bike lane on 31st Street in Astoria that locals — including firefighters from the local firehouse — said posed fire rescue risks.
Bernstein said a judge sided with his clients about the dangers the DOT’s 31st Street bike lane posed.
DOT filed a notice to appeal the judge’s decision, then created a new bike lane plan for the neighborhood that Bernstein said does roughly the same thing as the old plan the judge ruled against.
Bernstein said he plans to challenge DOT’s new Astoria bike lane plan, too.
“It’s mostly the same plan. And it really didn’t address 90% of what this judge said was wrong when she nullified the first plan,” Bernstein said.
DOT’s zeal may reflect the clout of Transportation Alternatives, a bike advocacy group partly funded by delivery companies that profit when the city builds out more taxpayer‑funded lanes for their e‑bikes and e‑trikes.
Transportation Alternatives has a direct foothold in the Mamdani administration.
The group’s executive director, Ben Furnas, served on the mayor’s transportation and infrastructure transition team, and the group’s street policy agenda has effectively been adopted as a blueprint for City Hall’s priorities.
City Hall did not respond to a Post request for comment.
But Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas said in a statement, “Prioritizing safety in no way bars or impairs anyone from using 72nd Street — quite the opposite, it turns a dangerous street into a better one for seniors, children, and disabled New Yorkers.
“After the redesign is finished, cars, trucks, and buses will all still be able to access, park on, and drive through 72nd Street. With these infrastructure improvements, it’ll be even easier for ambulances to drive through or pick up on 72nd, just like it’s become easier after similar projects finished across the city.
“There is no world where a street with better and shorter crossings is worse for anyone except reckless, speeding drivers.”
