Park Slope WTF: Chuck Schumer Rides In the PPW Bike Lane

Via Paul Steely White

The Honorable Charles “Chuck” Schumer, United States Senior Senator for the great state of New York, serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, sits on the committees for Judiciary; Finance; and Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, and apparently likes the bike lane on Prospect Park West.

Paul Steely, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, snapped this photo over the weekend and posted it on his blog. Yes, the very bike lane the NY Post speculated Schumer didn’t support (though he’s never taken an official public stance).

But his wife has.

Iris Weinshall, Chuck’s wife and former City Department of Transportation Commissioner, has been a vocal opponent and part of a group that’s so far cost taxpayers over $140,000 in legal fees, according to the Brooklyn Paper. And one of his major donors, attorney Jim Walden, is representing bike lane opponents pro bono.

Is this like getting caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar? To be fair, Schumer has never taken a public stance on the bike lane.  And a sometimes couples don’t share the same stance on every issue. So either he’s voted his approval of the lane by using it… or like Mayor Quimby on “The Simpsons,” he was on a ‘fact-finding mission.’