A terrifying accident in which an e-biker slammed into a 3-year-old girl in Brooklyn has erupted into an explosive campaign issue — with even Mayor Eric Adams chiming in.
Sabrina Gates — who is challenging incumbent City Council member Lincoln Restler in the Democratic primary — slammed him for being on “the wrong side” of the bike lane issue after shocking video of the Bedford Avenue incident went viral.
“Even before the bike lane, Bedford Avenue was a chaotic street. It’s a hazard,” said Gates, ripping the pro-cyclist Restler as not heeding the community’s concerns after the tot was injured over the weekend.
“Lincoln Restler has been on the wrong side of this issue,” she said. “Move the bike lane!”
Restler, who reps the 33rd Council district, defended his support of protected bike lanes and said he had pressed city transportation officials for safety improvements on Bedford Avenue to curb accidents in the cycle path there.
“Protected bike lanes are proven to make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles,” Restler, the heavy favorite to win re-election, said Tuesday.
“There have been too many crashes on the new Bedford Avenue bicycle lane involving young children,” he added. “I’ve been on the record repeatedly urging the Department of Transportation to make significant safety enhancements and expand outreach on Bedford to improve safety for all.”
But Mayor Eric Adams, in a rare statement on his X campaign account, disputed Restler’s statement.
“Let’s be clear: @LincolnRestler never called for modifying or removing the protected bike lane on Bedford Ave,” he posted.
“But when the people speak, we listen — with or without their councilman’s support,” Adams wrote. “That’s why I was in Williamsburg last week, hearing directly from the community.”
Restler shot back on X saying, “Mayor – we all know you aren’t paying much attention to governing our City – but I have requested safety enhancements from DOT for months in private meetings and at public budget hearings.”
Adams is seeking re-election on an independent party line after a scandal-scarred first term. He and Restler previously sparred over the council’s mandate for the closure of the troubled Rikers Island jail complex.
The footage of the accident, posted on X by Williamsburg 365 News shows the unaware tot, who appeared to have just stepped out of a double-parked car with a man — scurrying into the lane at Bedford and Park avenues around 7:40 p.m. Sunday when the oncoming cyclist struck her.
The blow left the youngster with minor injuries to her lower stomach, and she was taken to Bellevue Hospital, cops said.
The cyclist, a 22-year-old man seen with a bag hanging on the back of his ride — possibly a delivery rider — stayed at the scene and was not arrested.
Many of Williamsburg’s Hasidic residents who live on or near Bedford Avenue oppose the 1.5 mile bike lane.
New York City has about 1,500 miles of dedicated bike lanes, including 623 miles of protected bicycle lanes, according to the city Department of Transportation.
But merchants and restaurateurs in parts of the city — such as Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills — have complained the bike lane has taken away parking spaces for customers and hurts business.
The Adams administration has move ahead with the bike lanes as a public health and safety measure to protect bikers and encourage cycling, as did prior mayoral administrations.
Gates has served as the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s secretary and deputy director, and is backed by Brooklyn Democratic leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in the primary.
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