Are the bike lanes in New York working? 

Will bikes in New York ever become a safe and common mode of transport, as they are in Amsterdam? 

Imho: Only if there are a lot more bikes in the bike lanes, all the time. 

Because there are so few bikes on New York avenues, the lanes are being used for cars and pedestrians and conversations, which make them more or less useless for bikes.  

Bottom-line: If we want bike lanes to work, more bikes have to use them.