The trial of former President Donald Trump has taken over parts of Lower Manhattan - even its bike lanes.

Because of the trial, a main bike lane on Centre Street was cut off at Worth Street by a barrier. The NYPD has reportedly said they first closed it because pedestrians also access bike lanes, and they were trying to keep them away from the courthouse.

On Friday, Long Island native Maxwell Azzarello lit himself on fire in the park across the street. He later died.    

When News 12 was filming the closed lane on Tuesday, authorities opened it back up.  Sources close to the NYPD say they want to keep this main line of traffic open for cyclists.  Alexa Sledge from Transportation Alternatives says a bike lane being closed for any amount of time could be deadly.  

“A couple of years ago there was a woman who was biking on Central Park West, she was only 23 years old, the protected bike lane there was blocked, she had to merge into traffic, and she was killed,” Sledge told News 12 New York. 

“We know that when people are blocking bike lanes, it may seem like it’s no big deal, it may seem like ‘oh it’s only for a second,’ but blocking bike lanes is deadly and it can kill people.  We really can’t have it happening especially for repeated amounts of time when people really need to commute to their jobs,” she added. 

NYPD sources also told News 12 they may be closing the bike lanes for brief periods while the former president is moving around the area.