FORT GREENE — Police are cracking down on out-of-control cyclists in the neighborhood — especially those who run red lights, they said.
Bicycle summons have spiked in the last 28-day period, increasing 600 percent from two to 14 from last year to this year, according to the NYPD.
Capt. Benjamin Lee, executive officer of the 88th Precinct, which covers Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, regularly witnesses cyclists disobeying traffic laws on his commute into the office, he said.
"They [bicyclists] look and see that it's good and then they just ride," he said. "A lot of accidents that we see have a lot to do with the cyclists running red lights."
Lee mentioned that Lexington, Classon and DeKalb Avenues in the 88th Precinct are particularly problematic.
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Lee added that other accidents occur when drivers are making a left-hand turn into a bike lane.
"It's one of those questions of what came first the chicken or the egg," he said. "Did the bicycle run into the side of the car or did the car cut the bicycle off?"
Street safety advocate and Fort Greene resident Hilda Cohen said it's completely valid for police to ticket cyclists who are breaking traffic laws, but she hopes they are also focusing on motorists.
"That is where the selection of priorities comes into play," she said. "Because a lot of the cyclists that are being ticketed are running lights at the T intersections along Flushing Avenue, and, yes, that is a violation. But I do not think it is necessarily a safety hazard."
