GRIDLOCK SAM

Sun. Jul. 25-Sat. Jul. 31 ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK

The Nets may not have made it to the finals this year, but you’ll have one last chance for basketball excitement in Brooklyn this week: the NBA draft will take place Thursday at 8 p.m. at Barclays. Expect lots of media trucks, along with fans eager to see next season’s talent; things will be busy along Atlantic Ave. and Flatbush Ave. starting at around 6 p.m.

A protest to defund Zionist settler groups will convene Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Hanson Pl. and Ft. Greene Pl.; watch for impacts to Fulton St. and Lafayette Ave.

Age-old rival Atlanta will play the Mets in Queens this week. With a doubleheader Monday at 5 p.m. and 8:40 p.m., traffic will be heavy on Northern Blvd., Roosevelt Ave., the Van Wyck, the Whitestone, and the Grand Central during the afternoon rush, especially since airport traffic at LGA is picking up. The series will continue Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at noon.

TIMES SQUARE ALERT: 52nd St. will be closed between 7th Ave. and 6th Ave., 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., through August 1st.

Tuesday to Friday, 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., Manhattan-bound 5 trains will skip Baychester Ave., Gun Hill Rd. and Morris Park. Tuesday to Friday, 10:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through August 20th, Manhattan-bound 2 and 5 trains will skip E. Tremont Ave., 174th St., Freeman St., Simpson St., Intervale Ave., Prospect Ave. and Jackson Ave.

MAILBAG Dear Gridlock Sam,

The temporary bike lanes installed as a Covid response measure on 61st and 62nd Streets between York Ave. and 5th Ave. have disappeared! What gives? Did the city give up on this pilot?

Upper East Sider

Dear UES,

No, quite the opposite. DOT has removed the lanes in preparation for a permanent installation. The final design will keep the one-way bike lanes between 1st and 5th Avenues, but adds a two-way lane on 60th St. between 1st and York Avenues.

This project fixes one of the biggest gaps in the bike lane network, between the Queensboro Bridge and Midtown. It also creates the first protected crosstown route between Central Park and the East River. With cycling already way up due to the pandemic, and the city planning to convert the northern outer roadway on the QBB into a dedicated bike lane (construction should start later this year and wrap up towards the end of 2022), I expect this new link will be heavily used.