Police have arrested two people for allegedly repainting bike lanes on a street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where a battle has erupted between local bicycle enthusiasts and the area's Hasidic community. NY1's Lily Jamali filed the following report.

Nat Meysenburg has been biking Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn for about six years now, even before a bike lane existed.

"Having the bike lane here has definitely made Bedford Avenue both safer and increased the number of cyclists," Meysenburg said. "It's the early part of December and I can't ever remember seeing this many people riding bicycles."

And that's exactly the problem, if you ask members of Williamsburg's Hasidic community. Few wanted to go on camera Tuesday, citing religious reasons, but community activist Isaac Abraham says the bike lanes are dangerous, and that the Department of Transportation didn't account for the needs of the Hasidim when it installed them.

"It's not a question of 'not in my backyard.' But let the community know what you're doing. Have community input," Abraham said.

In response to those complaints, the city recently sandblasted away 14 blocks of bike lanes along Bedford Avenue, only to have some bikers take matters into their own hands.

Some bikers repainted the lanes themselves in the middle of the night and posted their actions on YouTube.

On Tuesday, police say a 26-year-old man and 24-year-old woman were arrested in connection with the repainting.

Both were charged with criminal mischief.

Some bikers NY1 spoke with say it was worth it, including one bike rider named Ben who said he wasn't involved but didn't want to show his face on camera.

"I'm glad some vigilante bikers painted it back in place because we need it. It's our only safety measure in the city," Ben said.

The DOT issued a statement saying, "We will continue to work with any community on ways we can make changes to our streets without compromising safety."

Bike advocate Baruch Herzfeld, an orthodox Jew, says the bike lane removal was an election-year deal with the Hasidic community.

"The mayor after he was elected would remove this 14-block stretch of bike lane as an ostentatious show of support, or quid pro quo, for their support in the election," Herzfeld said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg denied the claim, and said, "We made a change after getting input from community members. This has been an ongoing process that's been going on for a long time."