Eyes on the Street: Frankfort Street, Once a Placard Hell, Is Now A Cyclist Haven

The city has evicted cops from their exclusive combat parking strip on Frankfort Street and installed more pedestrian space and a two-way protected bike lane — a major victory for pedestrians and cyclists over the placard elite.

For at least the last decade, the short block between Gold Street and Park Row provided about two dozen spots reserved for the personal vehicles of cops assigned to 1 Police Plaza. But the block is now a key conduit to get cyclists to and from the Brooklyn Bridge protected bike lane, boosting connections to the south of the fabled span.

The cop street had been such a notorious placard zone that The New Yorker featured it in its coverage of Streetsblog’s campaign against illegal parking in 2023.

The shakeup is part of the DOT’s nearly $56-million “Chinatown Connections: project to improve access to the bridge and nearby streets, including Kimlau Square (though that ambitious part of the project has no timeline).

Cyclists are already appreciating greater access to the so-called Great Bridge.

“This is really helpful,” said Vanessa Yuan, a mother cycling her two children on a cargo bike. “It’s easier for cars to see us.”

Since 2021, the bike lane north of the block abruptly ended in a detour onto Park Row, leaving cyclists with no protection as they rode down the rest of the Frankfort. Now, painted strips line the street and connect north and southbound cyclists into the Gold Street intersection.

“What’s the point of having a bike lane if it stops halfway?” said another passing cyclist who gave the name Owais. “If cop cars can be parked elsewhere and bike lanes can be made, then I’m for it.”

The DOT also eliminated many of the street’s security barricades, streamlining the Park Row entrance and fulfilling one of its goals for the project.

An NYPD officer parked at the entrance of Park Row — a street that itself narrowly avoided a reopening to private traffic earlier this year — griped about the inconvenience of losing police-only parking, and did not comment on the safety improvement.

“When you take away parking, it sucks,” said the officer, Reihita Tekaaho. “When you’re coming from outside precincts, it’s hard to find parking.” (According to city records, Officer Tekaaho made $202,000 last year from the NYPD.)

But pedestrians on Frankfort were grateful for the safety improvements and disputed some allegations that police parking would spill onto nearby streets.

“It’s already a struggle to find parking, so it’s not going to change it for the majority of people,” said Max, a frequent Citi Bike user and car-owner himself.

More changes are needed lower down on Frankfort near its intersection with Pearl Street, where there have been 43 reported crashes since 2020, injuring 19 people, including five cyclists and six pedestrians. The DOT’s design for its “Chinatown Connections” does not include any plans for that most dangerous of intersections.

But for now, pedestrians and cyclists can enjoy a more cop-free stretch of Manhattan streets as they travel Brooklyn-bound.

And for anyone needing a reminder of Streetsblog’s efforts to combat placard parking in this area, enjoy: