I just moved to NYC and my first reaction is bike lanes on congested streets, love 'em. Though their is a slight safety risk for cyclists when they put their thumb to their nose and wiggle their fingers.
Cycle tracks: The first thing that threw me off was switching to watching ped lights rather then traffic lights. Next I will never ride counter flow on them, and at turn locations I merge into the turn lane rather then stay in the cycle track. Doing that I find them rather safe.
The real issue is during congested times there are more random obstacles that pop into the cycle tracks necessitating a slower speed. Granted annoying but doable. But just like in a car if you don't like one route chose another. This is NYC and "Whaaa I can't go as fast as I like." Doesn't hold much weight. But when the cars are moving fast and you are forced to pedestrian speeds, I agree that is frustrating. And being "forced" to use another street because of bike facilities is very ironic but really no different then being on a highway with a 60mph speed limit when traffic is backed up for miles.
For a cyclist in rush hour there are still places you can go flat out and there are places you have to use caution, whether it's cycle tracks or hundreds of cars.
My two cents.
But I like riding and I get to where I am going when I get there