Thompson, Avella Pledge to Dump Sadik-Khan If Elected
Tony Avella and Bill Thompson. Photo: Daily News.Thompson got started with a restrained, "I think you bring your own team to the table." Then Avella took the first rip at the city's new bike lanes and public plazas.
"There has to be community involvement," he said. "You can't just dictate from the top: 'Hey, tomorrow, here's a bike lane, here we're gonna close off the street,' without having communication with the elected officials, the community boards, and the neighborhoods, and that's why she should be fired."
This prompted an escalation from Thompson: "I favor bicycle lanes, however, you are hearing the complaint all over the city of New York, because the communities have not been consulted. They've been ignored. Bicycle lanes have been dropped upon them and there has been no discussion. That's wrong and that shouldn't continue."
Avella and Thompson don't seem to have a very good grasp of the facts on this
issue. DOT's plaza program is entirely opt-in. They won't build a plaza
in your community unless someone from the neighborhood asks for it. New
Yorkers are basically competing with each other to get these public
spaces added to their streets. Oh, and attacking the new plazas on Broadway is kind of like pledging to pave Bryant Park at this point.


Tony Avella

