Lawsuit aims at former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's pedestrian malls, bike lanes initiatives

DAVID HANDSCHUH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s bicycle initiatives are under attack in a lawsuit filed Friday.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s legacy of installing pedestrian malls, bike lanes and bicycle rental stations on city streets is under attack in a lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Carl Person, the former Libertarian Party candidate for state attorney general, says the measures are illegal because the mayor never did an environmental impact statement as required by law.

The court papers say those innovations created “significant” environmental harm as drivers -- particularly cabbies -- spend more time wasting gas in slow moving traffic and economic harm because it takes longer to move around Manhattan.

The effect of these innovations "has been to create more congestion" because vehicles have fewer moving traffic lanes on the major avenues, the court papers say.