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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 1-7, 2022 BXR
Dinowitzes accuse DOT of shady behavior
prior to Riverdale Avenue road diet proposal
BY ALIYA SCHNEIDER
City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz
and state Assemblymember
Jeffrey Dinowitz, his father,
are up in arms with the city Department
of Transportation
about transparency, regarding a
proposed road redesign on Riverdale
Avenue.
The Department of Transportation
(DOT) is scheduled to present
a road diet proposal for Riverdale
Avenue between West 254th
Street and West 263rd Street
on Thursday, March 31, at the
Community Board 8 Traffi c and
Transportation Committee meeting.
According to the agenda,
the agency is proposing to convert
the four-lane traffi c to three
lanes with a bike lane.
According to the committee
Chair Debra Travis, the redesign
would create a designated turning
lane as a method to slow traffi c.
The Dinowitzes released a
statement on Wednesday grilling
the DOT for sharing the proposal
with “a few hand-picked members
of a local, unelected civic organization”
instead of elected offi
cials, accusing the city agency
of cherry-picking who to engage
with based on apparent support
for the proposal in order “to put
their thumb on the scale” at the
March 31 meeting. The non-profi t
group, the Riverdale Main Street
Alliance (RMSA) advocates for
beautifi cation, business advocacy
and traffi c safety. RMSA
Chair Damien McShane, who formerly
chaired CB8 and its traffi c
and transportation committee,
told the Bronx Times last Thursday
that it’s premature for the
group to have an opinion.
But according to the Dinowitzes,
DOT predicted RMSA would
be in favor of the plan.
“Furthermore, it was communicated
to us that the Bronx DOT
actually asked this organization
to come to the community board
meeting, drum up support, and
speak in favor of this proposal,”
the joint statement said. “This effort
to undermine what should be
a good faith public conversation
about how to make our streets
as safe as they can be is unacceptable,
and we are deeply perturbed
that this may be an indicator
of how the Bronx DOT
intends to operate.”
McShane told the Bronx
Times that he didn’t understand
the Dinowitzs’ statement. He said
the group engages with city agencies
frequently, and he doesn’t
know why DOT came to them before
the board. He did point out,
however, that Bob Bender, the
community board’s vice chair,
is also a member of the RMSA
board, and that the group wasn’t
trying to hide anything.
In response to the Dinowitzs’
accusations, DOT spokesperson
Vin Barone sent the Bronx
Times the following statement:
“The DOT is encouraged by the
elected offi cials’ enthusiasm to
review our proposal to improve
safety along Riverdale Avenue,
which includes the addition of a
new bike lane. We look forward
to collecting feedback.”
The Dinowitzs said DOT had
shared proposals with elected offi -
cials and community board members
before presenting at meetings
in the past. According to Travis,
the committee chair, this helped
community members come better
prepared with questions.
The board asked DOT for the
presentation “multiple times” and
the agency has not provided it, saying
it’s not the policy, Travis said.
“DOT has not been working
in a collaborative way with the
community board or the electeds
on this project, but also on
other projects, and that has really
changed since the new acting
Bronx Borough Commissioner
(Keith Kalb) has come into
play,” she said, adding that the
board had a better relationship
with DOT under former Bronx
Borough Commissioner Nivardo
Lopez, who Gov. Kathy Hochul
appointed as deputy secretary
for transportation on Nov. 1 2021.
The agency plans to do the
work in May, not giving community
members much time to react,
she added.
Assemblymember Dinowitz
wrote in his email newsletter on
Friday that DOT showed him the
plans over Zoom but would not
share a physical copy.
Elected offi cials are accusing the city Department of Transportation of not being
transparent regarding an upcoming road diet proposal for Riverdale Avenue,
pictured. Photo | Adrian Childress
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