A top Fire Department official fanned the flames of anti-safety lies at a bizarre City Council hearing on Wednesday, claiming without evidence that protected bike lanes hobble first responders — testimony that counters Mayor Mamdani’s support for long-proven strategies for reining in traffic violence.
FDNY’s Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods, a 36-year veteran of the department, told lawmakers that the agency opposes protected cycle lanes — before walking back the comments — and contradicted Department of Transportation officials sitting right next to him.
“The Fire Department is not against bike lanes. We’re against the protected bike lanes,” Woods told the Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, which is chaired by the conservative car-first Queens Council Member Joann Ariola…