Citibike found raped and left for dead in Elmhurst

Citibikelash bash

 

 Queens Chronicle

A few weeks after an 18-slot Citi Bike station was installed at the corner of 97th Street and 23rd Avenue, some residents of East Elmhurst ended the summer with a rally to call for its removal.

Holding signs that read “Ban Citi Bike,” the East Elmhurst Corona Alliance along with community residents banded together last month to protest against the bike share company’s placement of docking stations in roadbeds on residential streets.

The group also started a Change.org petition, which was sent to David Risher, CEO of Lyft — which owns the service. The petition had garnered 323 signatures at the time of publication.

Frank Taylor, an East Elmhurst resident, community activist and chairman of Community Board 3, argues that the bike racks should be placed in commercial areas as opposed to residential, and that parking spaces are being taken away from residents.

“You can put them where people are actually going to use them, such as outside schools, shelters, hotels, parks — even over by Citi Field, where there’s a lack of bikes — but not outside of people’s property,” Taylor said. “Parking spots are valuable, especially in the East Elmhurst community, because we have a lot of seniors here who are not riding bikes.”

He also said the placement of the docking stations was in poor taste, due to their proximity to the East Elmhurst homes of late civil rights leader Malcolm X and the late former Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.

Giovanna Reid, district manager of CB 3, said that the Department of Transportation approached the board for feedback on the placement of the docking stations in East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and North Corona, but did not adhere to its recommendation to avoid installing them on residential blocks.

“Your average biker is not going to come to these locations. They are strictly residential, and there’s no real bike path to these homes,” Reid said. “I think they could have better planned for this. They should revisit their placement of these bicycles.”

The DOT says it has received minimal negative feedback during the outreach and installation process of Citi Bikes. The agency recognizes that station siting does impact parking but said it uses sidewalks and street spaces left open at corners for “daylighting” — improving drivers’ line of sight — where feasible.

The agency strives to maintain a network density of 28 bike stations per square mile, to ensure that riders do not have to walk more than a few minutes to get to the closest station.

Mona Bruno, a spokesperson for the DOT, added that Citi Bike has become a wildly popular transportation option in New York City in recent years, and that ridership has soared since the pandemic.

“We’re excited to continue expanding service in Queens to help offer residents a sustainable and efficient way to get around — and we always try to best balance the various uses and needs of our streets and sidewalks,” Bruno said.

Jon Orcutt, advocacy director at Bike New York, a nonprofit that promotes and encourages bicycling and bicycle safety, said that Citi Bike is one of the best-used bike-share systems in the world, but that it could be improved in certain ways to make sustainable transportation easier for New Yorkers in transit deserts.

“I think the city could better link small mobility elements, like bikes, to the transit system. For example, if you don’t live right on Roosevelt Avenue, the 7 train might be a long walk, but it might only be a 10 minute bike ride or less,” Orcutt said. “There’s a lot of strategies you can put together to make it easy for people to get around without cars in a city like New York. While we are the transit capital of the United States, we don’t do some basic things that other places with really good, sustainable transportation systems do, and one of them is linking bikes and transit very explicitly.”

Co-op sues DOT and Lyft for inducing Citibike racks on parking spaces by their apartment buildings

 

Happy Parking Space For People New Year

Our secretary worked with the @NYCMayorsOffice, @NYC_DOT and @BobHoldenNYC and was able to negotiate a deal that keeps 100% of @CitiBikeNYC stations on the sidewalk in #Glendale and #MiddleVillage and continues to work on #Maspeth and #Ridgewood pic.twitter.com/sSUT3RRFsy

— Juniper Park Civic (@junipercivic) December 20, 2022

Citibike's expansion to Middle Queens will remain on the sidewalks. Nice try but no dice Transportation Alternatives.

Citibike cancelled

 

 Queens Chronicle

The city — make that Mayor Adams’ Office — has agreed to delay the installation of Citi Bike docking stations that are coming to Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village.

The delay, or “pause” as some are telling the Chronicle, came after a meeting two weeks ago at the district office of Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) that included civic and community leaders, city Department of Transportation officials and Mayor Adams’ Senior Advisor Tiffany Raspberry.

Community members have argued that the locations of between 50 and 60 docks were made without adequate community participation, particularly those that would be placed in the street at the expense of residential and business on-street parking.

The DOT ruffled many feathers in November upon announcing that installations would begin in December. Now that has been put off until January.

“When Mayor Adams heard that the community was upset that input wasn’t considered, he sent top officials from the DOT and his own staff,” said Eric Butkiewicz, chairman of the Transportation Committee of Community Board 5.

“I give him credit for this.”

Butkiewicz and Tony Nunziato, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said the community had offered a number of alternatives, including a report prepared by Christina Wilkinson of the JPCA and Newtown Historical Society that proponents said would have greatly reduced the number of street stations with only minor alterations to the DOT plan. Butkiewicz placed blame for the problems on the de Blasio administration

“It’s on pause pending community feedback,” Butkiewicz said. “We were pleased to hear that, because that’s all we wanted. We understand that contracts had been entered into a number of years ago, putting everyone into a situation that’s hard to get out of. What we want is the maximum benefit for the community while eliminating potential problems downstream.”

A DOT spokesman said in an email that the agency will be ready.

“Citi Bike has proven to be a wildly popular transportation option with ridership soaring since the pandemic,” he said. “DOT continues to thoughtfully incorporate community feedback and we’re excited to roll out new stations in January.” (STFU already, it's clearly not popular-JQ LLC)

Nunziato said the loss of parking spaces would be a hardship for many seniors who rely on cars to get around. A third-generation businessman, he said it could destroy small businesses still reeling from the pandemic.

“They’re pitting businesses against each other,” he said. “Citi Bike is a business. They’d be taking parking spaces from small businesses and giving them to a competing business. Small businesses built this city. Take parking away from small business and you close small businesses.”

 

NYC Department Of Transportation Alternatives: You'll get citibike and like it

 

Queens Chronicle

The city’s Department of Transportation has approved a plan that will result in more than 50 Citi Bike docks coming to Community District 5, with construction beginning as early as December.

The reception from officials representing the Maspeth-Glendale-Middle Village area was about what might have been anticipated, particularly with the anticipated loss of parking.

Information obtained from Community Board 5 on Monday said about 40 of the docking stations would be on the street, with the others on sidewalks — this in spite of numerous requests to preserve parking.

“The one-size fits all approach of DOT with Citi Bike is nonsensical and ought to be reconsidered,” said Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth). “Time and time again, the DOT pretends to engage the community and waste their time garnering input, only to move forward with a widely unpopular project. The community devised an alternate proposal that made sense and mitigated any issues of losing much-needed parking. The local community board did not approve this project. The community will not accept it.”

Holden said he intends to fight the DOT “until they listen to the community and stop pandering to special interest groups who monopolize public space.”

In a press release sent out Monday evening, District Manager Gary Giordano said the DOT had not given Community Board 5 definitive numbers on the parking spaces to be lost.

The DOT also gave no numbers in a response to the Chronicle.

“Citi Bike has proven to be a wildly popular transportation option with ridership soaring since the pandemic,” DOT Spokesman Vin Barone said in an email. “DOT has thoughtfully incorporated, and continues to incorporate, community feedback into our final proposal in a way that ensures convenient and reliable access to Citi Bike. We look forward to expanding this vital service to help offer Queens residents safe, sustainable, and efficient ways to get around.”

  

These pictures where these citibikes were abandoned on this same block were recently taken in the past month in South Richmond Hill, where there are no citibike racks to speak of. Really not sure if it's the same one. This is what's coming to your town even though there is absolutely no security or any effort to maintain them by the bikeshare provider and proprietor Lyft/Citibike. This is spiteful and chaotic theft and corporate privatization of public spaces being done by a regulatory captured municipality. 

@DannyHarris_TA and @TransAlt wants @CitiBikeNYC to be its own New York City transit agency

This is why they should never be taken seriously. Especially by our elected officials #NYCDepartmentOfTransAlt pic.twitter.com/7xiBu84TBf

— JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) November 18, 2022

Why no one should trust @TransAlt and Don @DannyHarris_TA. This guy insists that TA is still a grass roots organization despite that it's rooted in corporation, big bank, lobbyist, "non" profit group, venture capital and oligarch money

And Lyft, the only killer cars he likes pic.twitter.com/xlTnN4O0fY

— JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) November 14, 2022

The Department of Transportation Alternatives accused Juniper Civic of political machinating at Community Board 5 meeting

From the Juniper Civic:

This is a new comm board member from Ridgewood lamenting that JPCA had the executive committee change the chair of the transportation committee because "DOT told him that's what happened". We had no idea we had this much power! We didn't even realize the chair was changed, nor do we care.

I actually would like to know who this masked man is and what would compel him to make such an accusation. Which is ironic considering how Transportation Alternatives presence has been at every announcement of street infrastructure and transportation related policy announcements this year. And whoever this person the committee removed is such a concern for the clearly regulatory captured DOT then that's ok by me.

And if this guy is representing Ridgewood that town has got a lot less cooler.

This just in:

It turns out that this masked man relaying accusations by the Department of Transportation about Juniper Civic is Derek Evers,the campaign manager for Juan Ardila for his failed city council campaign last year. As reported on this blog, Evers was picked by Borough President Donovan Richards to represent the district on CB5 and also appeared in Ardila's social media campaign ad larping as a regular citizen. It's a safe bet that honesty is not one of his skill sets.

  

Since Ardila had tremendous backing by non-profit "advocacy" organizations for street safety and equity Transportation Alternatives and Open Plans's StreetsPac during his stunning win for the State Assembly, despite his use of a car and racking up a load of traffic and parking violations during his campaign run; what Derek has clearly done here, to use his term, was reveal their influence on the D.O.T.'s street infrastructure policy decisions. Going after Juniper was obvious considering numerous social media posts showing how they want to place citibike racks on the streets to usurp parking spaces for people's cars instead of ample sidewalks. 

About the person who got sacked by CB5 that the DOT and Evers were trying to defend, Toby Shepard Bloch. That's him on the right sitting next to Lincoln Restler during a town hall for a hotel about to converted into a homeless shelter in Maspeth. Toby apparently was supposed to be their rubber stamp for the Citibike expansion and colonizing of curbside parking and this fits in well with Linky's own attempts to force shelters on communities without their input. And as we all her know about Linky, he's the biggest Transportation Alternatives agency captured official in Brooklyn and all of New York.

 

It's beyond hilarious how the DOT has the audacity to accuse CB5 and actually anyone of political shenanigans after the way their municipality has been agency captured by Transportation Alternatives as that non-profit org has been present at every rally involving street infrastructure and policy announcements by politicians the past year and then they get mad because some appointee who was basically a proxy for them gets canned? Maybe if they didn't try to force Citibike on a town and wouldn't compromise on how public spaces can be used for them, they wouldn't be whining right now. They need to remember who the fuck they work for, the taxpayers, not private corporations with some bike share scheme.

The Department of Transportation Alternatives are making up neighborhoods now

 

As everybody knows on this blog and anyone else that lives in Queens that counts, the only Fresh Pond that exists in Queens is a street that it's named after. Fresh Pond Road goes from Glendale to Ridgewood ending at Flushing Avenue near Maspeth (thanks to the commentor and Crappy for correcting me). Gotta wonder if the DOT or more likely Lyft/Citibike are getting into the branding of neighborhoods, since they are privatizing public streets with these crappy bikes (that are apparently very easy to steal).

The Department Of Transportation Alternatives will never compromise

Queens Post

Council Member Bob Holden is calling for the firing of Queens DOT Commissioner Nicole Garcia arguing that she fails to listen to the concerns of residents and shows contempt for local civic organizations.

Holden’s call for Garcia’s ousting comes at a time when the DOT is working on installing 52 Citi Bike stations in Middle Village and Maspeth, both neighborhoods he represents.

The council member has been critical of the agency for not properly notifying his constituents about the Middle Village/Maspeth plan, and then failing to work with civic groups—such as Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) —in terms of where the stations should be installed.

The JPCA, which has embraced the Citi Bike expansion, has been calling on the DOT to place the stations on sidewalks—as opposed to on the street—as a means to preserve parking spaces. Christina Wilkinson, secretary of the association, put together a detailed plan as to where the proposed street stations could be moved to avoid the loss of parking.

The DOT rejected these calls last month, prompting criticism from Holden. (click for JPCA proposal and DOT response)

“Garcia’s Queens DOT shows nothing but contempt for local civic organizations in middle-class neighborhoods, particularly in their refusal to seriously consider requests regarding Citi Bike installations,” Holden said.

The councilmember argues that the Queens DOT is not sincere when it says it wants community feedback.

Holden said that many neighborhoods in Queens desperately need parking spaces and have little use for renting bicycles, including seniors, families with children and the disabled.

“Lyft’s Citi Bike agenda lacks any regard for those New Yorkers and has no interest in inclusivity. The DOT should stand up for these New Yorkers and stop doing Lyft’s bidding. One of the great things about living in New York City, particularly in Queens, is that every neighborhood has its own character. The Queens DOT denies this unique diversity by forcing a one-size fits all approach to bike stations across the city.”

He said it’s time for the Queens DOT to turn a page and advocate for its residents. He said the agency also has a history of denying requests for stop signs, speed bumps and other traffic safety measures in his district that would keep his constituents safe.

“The Queens DOT can only move our borough toward a safer future with a new commissioner who will listen to community feedback and respond swiftly to the needs of Queens taxpayers.”

“Garcia’s Queens DOT makes a dog and pony show out of asking for community input and then throws it in the gutter. Lyft’s Citi Bike program continues to gobble up parking spaces badly needed by hardworking New Yorkers, like a giant corporate PAC MAN who refuses to hear the reasonable requests of middle-class neighborhoods in favor of the fanatical anti-car movement and a corporation with a vested interest in getting New Yorkers to give up owning cars.”

The Department of Transportation Alternatives undermines community plan for Citibike racks

 

 Ridgewood Post

The Department of Transportation plans to bring Citi Bike to Maspeth and Middle Village this summer but the agency is coming under fire from Councilmember Bob Holden for dismissing the community’s input as to the workings of the plan.

Holden, who penned a letter to Queens DOT Commissioner Nicole Garcia Friday, argues that the DOT is not paying attention to residents who have been calling on the DOT to preserve parking spaces by not putting the docking stations on the roadway.

The DOT announced February that Citi Bike was coming to the Middle Village/Maspeth area this summer and released a map that included 52 station locations, with as many as 34 stations to be installed on the street—likely to take as many as 100 parking spaces. The other 18 stations/docks planned are to be on sidewalks.

The Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA), a local civic group, was alarmed by the DOT’s plan and the potential loss of parking. The organization, with the help of Holden, came up with a detailed proposal that called for the relocation of the 34 station/ docks planned to be placed in the streets to avoid any loss of parking.

The DOT notified Holden and the JPCA on June 22 that it had reviewed the organization’s suggestions and would make changes to seven of the stations—but the remainder of the plan would remain in place. (click for JPCA proposal and DOT response)

“I ask you to revisit your rejection of the Juniper Park Civic Association’s suggestions…,” Holden wrote. “Your response to our community’s suggestions seems dismissive, to say the least. Sadly, this is not a surprise.”

The DOT, in a letter written by Garcia to Holden on June 22, said it “took a hard look at each suggestion and where feasible incorporated changes into the updated plan.”

Christina Wilkinson, secretary of the Juniper Civic Association who drafted the proposal, said that the Maspeth/Middle Village community simply cannot afford to lose parking.

“We are a transit desert, and many people rely on vehicles,” Wilkinson said. “We don’t want residents and business owners looking for parking to be inconvenienced.”

“We want Citi Bike, but in a way that enhances our neighborhoods.”

The association’s plan would comprise of 43 stations in total, down from the DOT’s 52.

Wilkinson said that she put the plan together based on her knowledge of the area and after researching the DOT’s Citi Bike guidelines. She said her goal was to preserve parking spaces while making the bike share program a success.

Holden said that the DOT has not listened to local residents who he says know the area best.

“It is greatly frustrating to repeatedly meet with the DOT and have civic leaders and residents offer sensible solutions, only to be turned down each time,” Holden wrote. “The Queens DOT makes a show of community meetings but is indifferent or even hostile to real community input.”

“The options suggested by the JCPA seem very reasonable, well thought out and worth exploring.”

The JCPA’s plan calls for the elimination of 11 of the roadside stations. Wilkinson said many are not needed since the area isn’t as densely populated as other New York neighborhoods.

The DOT, however, said that the 11 were needed to ensure “equal access to the bike share network.” The DOT typically aims to have a station every few blocks within a coverage district. The idea is to have a station within a 3-to-5-minute walk from one another.

The DOT rejected about 15 other suggestions—that involve moving the stations to the sidewalk– on the basis that tree pits or fire hydrants were in the way or the sites weren’t big enough. However, Wilkinson argues the Citi Bike docks are modular and the size of the docks can vary according to the space.

So much for the city's claim of transportation equity, at least they are not being shy about the spite racks anymore.

Caption this smoking citibike rider

A more equitable and rational Citibike expansion proposal for Queens

 

Juniper Park Civic 

The Citibike expansion to Queens got a good do over by Juniper Park Civic. Taking DOT's original proposals which would've usurped street curb spaces from residential and commercial parking (spitefully in my opinion) onto ample sidewalk spaces nearby them instead.

 

Let's see how Transportation Alternatives responds... 

 

 

 

Hi, you're welcome to reach out anytime to collaborate on safe streets advocacy. Just email queens@transalt.org.

— Laura Shepard (@LAShepard221) April 7, 2022

The Department Of Transportation's Citibike spite rack policy is now verified

Although @NYC_DOT asked for "community feedback" via an online map (which no civic organizations were made aware of) the suggestion to site a bike dock on this wide plaza was rejected in favor of putting it in the street. pic.twitter.com/otJw9nJMrk

— Juniper Park Civic (@junipercivic) March 26, 2022

The D.O.T. is inducing Citibike on Maspeth and Middle Village.

 

The draft plan for Citi Bike stations in Maspeth and Fresh Pond Road has been released! NYC DOT representatives presented the plan to Queen's Community Board 5's Transportation Services and Public Services Combined Committees. If you'd like to send feedback regarding the draft plan, please send an email to bikeshare@dot.nyc.gov.

• Presentation (PDF)
• Draft Plan (PDF)

 This is not going to go well Ydanis.

 

Fire ride with me

 

NY Post

A Citi Bike exploded on the tracks of a Queens subway station on Sunday night after being “rolled” onto the roadbed and hit by a train, according to police and video of the collision.

Footage posted on Instagram showed the blue rent-a-bike strewn along the tracks at Steinway Street in Astoria while the person filming mutters, “Oh no no no” as the R train enters the station.

The train hits the bike once, then twice — then the two-wheeler erupts into flames.

The clip ends with the train stopped as the tracks and platform becomes engulfed in smoke. Straphangers can be seen fleeing the scene to avoid the breathing in the muck.

An NYPD spokesperson said the incident occurred at 10:25 p.m. when an unidentified male “rolled” the bike onto the southbound track.

Green Party candidate slams Crescent St. bike lane and Citibike racks as counterproductive to residents safety and the environment

Queens Post 

I am a healthy 24-year-old man who commutes to work on a bicycle, and I love it. I think it’s a great alternative mode of transportation. However, I understand that there is a huge community of people who cannot or prefer not to bike around the city.

I have spoken with many local residents who feel ignored by the rollout of bike lanes and Lyft-owned Citi bike docking stations in northwest Queens. The major rollout of docking stations throughout 2021 has been uncareful and unsafe. It does not align with the interests of our community.

The 2-way bike lane on Crescent Street is dangerous because it runs against oncoming traffic on a busy street near Mt. Sinai hospital. Last Sunday marked 10 months since Alfredo Cabrera Licona was killed by a reckless driver in this bike lane – a collision that could have been avoided with proper bike lane placement.

Protecting bike lanes is necessary; however, the majority of cycling-related accidents occur at intersections. A bike lane going the opposite way never belonged on Crescent Street. There are better side streets for DOT to allocate its resources within Astoria, Woodside, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst.

Many of us are in favor of making the streets safer. Recently, I was almost hit by a car while I was trying to access Citi bike parking on 29th Street and 24th Avenue, near the Triboro Bridge. Not only is it dangerous to dock a bike in the middle of a street, it is reckless of large corporations like Lyft to normalize not wearing a helmet.

I recently met Aubrey Manfredi, a lifelong Astoria resident who is disabled. She told me the following about living near the Crescent Street lane: “It’s good for bike riders but not for people like me, who are going to the store. It’s very hard. Trucks get stuck in the bike lane because there is no room. Parking space is so limited. Cars are waiting for a spot every morning.”

Manfredi’s family is now paying $225 each month to reserve a private parking spot a few minutes away from her apartment. “It really has affected my health. In the snow, I have to walk to the corner to get into the car. I can’t get into the car in front of my house because of the parking, and it’s painful for me to walk.”

A lack of parking space results in overcrowded streets, which makes it difficult for ambulances to reach hospitals like Mount Sinai, and difficult for delivery vans to serve our families in Astoria. Ultimately, workers are forced to idle in the bike lane, causing further danger and noise pollution.

Circling the block or idling to wait for a parking spot results in higher emissions and defeats the green objective behind the ramping up of bike lanes citywide. Furthermore, our city should have compassion for the many families who lack the financial means to afford a driveway.

Street parking is a necessity during a deadly pandemic, especially for immunocompromised folks who must avoid public transportation. We need to be much smarter and more class conscious in determining the location of bike lanes.

The development of new infrastructure must incorporate common sense. In particular, we can move Citi bike docking away from alternate side parking onto wider sidewalks, and add mini-stations near schools and bus stops.

If we are going to reimagine the relationship between motorists and cyclists, there must be some compromise involved. For example, instead of creating rush hour congestion with a bike lane on the 59th Street bridge, the city could significantly expand ferry service between Queens and Manhattan for cyclists’ benefit.

This is not a battle between motorists and cyclists. This is a result of corporate greed and corrupt politics which are failing us. We must hold our leadership accountable for systemic issues due to a lack of consideration for the most vulnerable. As a community, we ought to stand in solidarity; we must make it clear to city leaders when new transportation initiatives are hurting New Yorkers.

Unfortunately, both Democrat and Republican politicians care more about re-election and their resume than doing the right thing. A selfish City Council member would boast, “I placed X amount of bike lanes during my tenure” without considering the impact on residential and commercial streets. That is no way for a representative of the people to think and behave.

We must push for a smarter rollout of bike lane placement which preserves street parking, reduces congestion and maintains quality of life for seniors, students, veterans and the disabled. Bike lanes should be approved by the community and only implemented if appropriate safety guidelines are met. Above all, we ought to design a system of decision making that works for everyone in Astoria.

Bushwick bike spite racks

"Hi I saw your post about the spite racks and wanted you to know that Ridgewood is not alone.

I took these pics early Sunday morning (before 8am) along Irving Ave in Bushwick. It's the same story - the bike racks were installed last year and they didn't bother to put bikes in them. And judging by the lack of bikes all these months later, there isn't much of a market here as none have migrated over from racks in other neighborhoods." - anonymous

Ridgewood bike spite racks

"Last fall, Citibike expanded into Ridgewood.

I walked around Ridgewood this weekend and was struck at how few bikes were in the newish CitiBike racks in the hood.

At first glance, it looks like the program is quite popular in the neighborhood as there's hardly a bike to be found.

But upon further discussion with neighbors, the truth came out. "They put the racks in last year but never stocked them with bikes." "They took away parking spots for this but didn't supply any bikes." "Why did they do this? Anyone here who wants to ride a bike already owns one."

And there you have it. Anything to make life more inconvenient for drivers, eh Polly?" - Anonymous


This post by New York Gentrification Watch (which focused on Citibike's expansion into yet to gentrified mostly Black neighborhoods in Brooklyn, they do still exist) last summer predicted and now confirms this spiteful disservice to the citizens of Ridgewood. This should qualify as a land use issue.- JQ LLC

 Last week on Curbed, via the NY Daily News, it was reported that a nonprofit, New York Communities for Change, commissioned a study to look at how well Citi Bike was serving NYC residents. Conducted by the Urban Politics and Research Governance Group and called “Bridging the Boroughs,” it came to the totally shocking, unseen and far out of left field conclusion that Citi Bike is being used exclusively by a young white affluent demographic

 Initially, my reaction to the Bridging the Boroughs study was, “No DUH. Of course.” But a few minutes into reading about it, alarm bells immediately started going off. Here’s why:

That Citi Bike is exclusively catering to a demographic that doesn’t include the poor and people of color shouldn’t have been a surprise to anybody. It’s so obvious that I can’t even believe people would waste time creating a study based around this very obvious fact. After all, this is who that service is for–tech-oriented, upper middle class white millennial-age transplants who have the money and the time to waste on what’s essentially a luxury.

Why is Citi Bike a luxury? Because no one needs it to commute by bike in NYC. They just…well, don’t. Wanna commute? No problem. Go to a bike store, a Sears, a Target, a local NYC bargain basement, Craigslist or a thrift shop. Pick any one of a number of bikes available. Take it home. Then take it out whenever you need to go somewhere. If you don’t have the space to store a bike, then get a folding bike.

Easy peasy, right? That’s what I did. That’s what hundreds of thousands of people around NYC did and continue to do. Did we need a Citi Bike to start bike commuting? No.

 But you see, here’s the thing–some people don’t want to get into bike commuting the “easy peasy” way. For one, to go out and buy a mass-produced bike like any Tom, Dick or Harry would make you like everyone else. If you’re a privileged snot from a particular demographic, you can’t do that because you’re not like everyone else. Your bike has to be niche. It has to come in a unique design and color and be associated with something distinctive that sets it apart from the bikes that everyone else is using.

Furthermore, it’s simply too mundane, “lo-tech” and old-fashioned to grab a mass-market bike and roll it out the door like every other human being. Gadgetry must be involved, as well as a highfalutin way of acquiring and using said bike. This is so your ride acquires a level of sophistication and coolness that makes you superior to the dumb, older, unsophisticated masses who aren’t smart or cool enough to use a bike that requires a smartphone. If you have to spend more money than necessary on a service to get this experience, all the better. That only makes it worth paying more money for, because this turns it into a luxury that most can’t afford.

It was people like this for whom Citi Bike was created, people who have the disposable income–and the waste of time–to use a system in which they have to jump through hoops to commute by bike. Urban planners, Big Development and their political cronies know this. It’s why Citi Bike was rolled out in the first place. Contrary to everyone’s assertions that it was about making bike riding more accessible to New Yorkers, Citi Bike seems to me to have been a cynical strategy to alert certain affluent demographics on the west coast and perhaps in Europe that NYC was now “up to their standards” and worth moving to.

Citibike rolls out new fleet of illegal ebikes

NY Daily News

Citi Bike riders are about to get a boost.

The bike-sharing company will roll out a new line of e-bikes Wednesday, 10 months after its entire fleet of electric two-wheelers was pulled from service after a braking issue catapulted several riders over the handlebars and sent them to the hospital.

The new e-bikes, which give riders a little extra pickup when they pedal, were designed specifically for New York City, said Citi Bike spokesman Cory Epstein. Unlike the old models, they have a motor on the back wheel, instead of the front, and have drum brakes that do not lock up.

Citi Bike’s old e-bikes had “roller brakes” that did not have power modulators, skirting the brake manufacturer’s specifications.

 The new rides appear to be safer. During a test ride Tuesday, a Daily News reporter slammed an e-bike’s front brake at top speed. The bike came to a comfortable stop instead of throwing its rider to kingdom come.

As I documented for at least a year on social media with #EbikesAreMotorcycles, the safety issue isn't just with these bikes but the people that use them 

(Beware) Ridgewood is getting citibikes

NY Post

  Citi Bike will begin installing stations in Bushwick in Brooklyn and Ridgewood in Queens next week, the company announced on Wednesday.

In total, the two neighborhoods will get 85 new stations of the bulky blue rental bikes, on top of a handful installed earlier this year ahead of the now-canceled L train shutdown.

The eastward expansion is the first step in Citi Bike’s plan to triple its fleet to 40,000 bikes and double its coverage area, which is currently limited to Manhattan up to 130th Street and sections of Brooklyn and Queens near the East River.

 “Citi Bike is regularly shattering ridership records, as more New Yorkers and visitors alike discover what is, hands down, one of the most fun, healthiest, and sustainable ways to get around the city,” city Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement. “We are very excited about this latest development and cannot wait to add more new neighborhoods in 2020 and beyond.”

 There was a great post on Citibike's expansion months ago by an ally that merits a rebuttal to Polly here.

New York Gentrification Watch

 Last week on Curbed, via the NY Daily News, it was reported that a nonprofit, New York Communities for Change, commissioned a study to look at how well Citi Bike was serving NYC residents. Conducted by the Urban Politics and Research Governance Group and called “Bridging the Boroughs,” it came to the totally shocking, unseen and far out of left field conclusion that Citi Bike is being used exclusively by a young white affluent demographic.

 Initially, my reaction to the Bridging the Boroughs study was, “No DUH. Of course.” But a few minutes into reading about it, alarm bells immediately started going off. Here’s why:

That Citi Bike is exclusively catering to a demographic that doesn’t include the poor and people of color shouldn’t have been a surprise to anybody. It’s so obvious that I can’t even believe people would waste time creating a study based around this very obvious fact. After all, this is who that service is for–tech-oriented, upper middle class white millennial-age transplants who have the money and the time to waste on what’s essentially a luxury.

 It was people like this for whom Citi Bike was created, people who have the disposable income–and the waste of time–to use a system in which they have to jump through hoops to commute by bike. Urban planners, Big Development and their political cronies know this. It’s why Citi Bike was rolled out in the first place. Contrary to everyone’s assertions that it was about making bike riding more accessible to New Yorkers, Citi Bike seems to me to have been a cynical strategy to alert certain affluent demographics on the west coast and perhaps in Europe that NYC was now “up to their standards” and worth moving to.