Disdain Over Citibike Stations Turns To Legal Action, Including 150 Joralemon Street

The Citi Bike Share program is now prompting more than simple community disdain. Add a collection of lawsuits against the city and its Department of Transportation—including one by the co-op board of 150 Joralemon Street.

Racks there are allegedly getting in the way of garbage collection, “with three other racks in a three-block vicinity offering some 70 bikes,” according to the New York Post. Resident Ken Wasserman, overseeing the lawsuit, says: “We were never notified we were selected until after everything was in place.”

Others fighting the citywide installations include West Village co-cop 99 Bank Street—and at least nine other properties, according to the Post. At 99 Bank, property owners, as reported by Curbed, say a bike station installed in a parking lane on the north side of Bank Street across from the Bleecker Street playground “severely endangers the health & safety of the residents of 99 Bank Street,” and that its placement violates a city rule that says no street furniture should be placed opposite a building entrance.

Crain’s says the official launch date is set for Memorial Day weekend.

In Brooklyn Heights, in addition to 150 Joralemon, stands are now at the corner of Remsen & Hicks, and Clark & Henry (outside of the Hotel St. George), with soon-to-be locations at Cranberry and Columbia Heights and Borough Hall.

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  • MonroeOrange

    i love how everybody, keeps using the stat 5,000 people, like that means anything…last time i checked, there were over 8 million people in NYC….

  • MonroeOrange

    me too Brixtony..its the very few that think this is a good program, they are just the most vocal on this blog…im with you Brixtony!

  • MonroeOrange

    That is not the case…come winter time, these will be a real nuisance ..that will lower the property values for sure…Less free parking, also lowers property values…Stickers and Graffiti that will inevitable end up on these racks, will lower property values.

  • nombre

    what does that last sentence of yours mean? Kids in those neighborhoods are all thieves? Or are you hinting that you’re racist?

  • nombre

    I heard the racks are being put on the streets in a deliberate effort by the city to cut down available parking spots & deter people from driving cars due to lack of parking. Put them in the parks.

  • Eric Weisburg

    Harlem, Bed Stuy and Brownsville? No need for racist generalizations, this is about bike share.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=631255472 Quinn Raymond

    The bike share will absolutely increase your property value and will be seen as a neighborhood amenity. Real Estate agents will mention bike share station proximity in their listings.

    Try and think long term.

  • TeddyNYC

    The key is waiting and just like motorists and pedestrians in this city, some cyclists here can be impatient and aggressive. You also have tourists who are not as “hyper-aware” of their environment as people who have lived here a while. I do wish this program the best.

  • Joe A

    Stupid racist comment. BTW, I don’t think bright blue clunky slow bikes are in high demand in the neighborhoods you site.

  • Mike

    Born and raised, actually — 38 years and counting. I’ve never seen cars drive 1 inch from anything, anywhere.

    But, to the topic at hand. On evenings and weekends, cars were allowed to park where the bikes will now be. The bike stations with bikes aren’t any wider than a larger parked car would be. I don’t recall lots of people crashing into parked cars along there. Am I missing something?

  • Mike

    Way to make dire predictions about the future based on zero evidence. Have you researched how things have worked in cities with bike share in similar climates? If you had, you’d know you were just making things up.

  • Mike

    Parks are useful to all people. Parking spots are useful to the very small fraction of folks living in the neighborhood who own cars. I’d much rather lose parking than park space.

  • GHB

    Why, people in those neighborhoods don’t need to get from Point A to Point B?

  • Mike

    Recent polls show more than 70% of people in the city are in favor of bike share. You are the vocal minority, not us.

  • MonroeOrange

    you both are missing a very crucial part…SAFETY! Drivers at that light race to make the right, it happens everyday, they come speeding down Henry st. I am not against this program, i just don’t want to see anyone get injured, which they will!

  • MonroeOrange

    yes you are missing something…people backing the bikes out of the spots forcing cars into the bike lane…I feel like i have to paint a picture for you…Bike racks full of bikes, you can’t move forward or to the side…so you have to back your bike into the street, as cars are racing to make a light…that is very dangerous to me!

    And furthermore, most drivers aren’t looking for a bike opposite the bike lane, which these racks are…the fact that you are questioning that this is safe location, makes me even more worried…someone will get injured here…that’s my point..if you don’t care about that, then that’s up to you…but take off your blinders sir.

    And the Tillary St location is baffling too….lets have tourist ride bikes through the tillary street intersections…brilliant!

  • MonroeOrange

    Quinn…these will not increase property values…the loss of parking spaces will decrease value, as parking in a garage costs $400 a month, so the loss of spaces will certainly decrease value of a property. The stickers and graffiti on these racks, which is sure to come, already has in Ft. Greene. will not increase values. And in case you weren’t aware, a real estate agent will put always say that something will increase value, whether or not that will be the case.

  • TeddyNYC

    Well, now that you mention safety, I did notice something about the Henry/Atlantic location which could be a concern. The Citibike sign with the location name and local map does block the view someone trying to cross Henry has of oncoming vehicles. Some of these citibike locations definitely needing some tweaking and if necessary, relocation. Overall, I think the bike-sharing program is a positive thing for the city. It just needs some work.

  • MonroeOrange

    thanks teddy…that is the location i am referring too…i just feel like they looked at a map and threw darts at it..without ever seeing it in person.

  • PB

    I don’t understand. This bike rack replaced some parking spaces. When cars parked there, how did they pull out into this endless stream of reckless drivers?

    Were those cars trapped there for hours on end? Did they hire private crossing guards to halt traffic? Did they just sell their cars in an “where-is” location? (Car for sale cheap. Trapped by the flow of traffic on Henry Street just North of Atlantic Ave.”

    No. The driver just waited until they had a safe moment and then pulled out. Bike riders will do the exact same thing. That the rack + bike is notably narrower than the width of the parked cars just means that it will be that much easier for the cylists to do so.

    (And as far as drivers “not looking for a bike opposite a bike lane”… once the racks are filled with bright blue bikes it will be pretty hard to miss them. I suspect that’s one reason the bikes are so brightly colored — safety.)

  • MonroeOrange

    70%! not 70% of the people that had this put directly infront of their buildings or business, i can ensure you that…

  • MonroeOrange

    Mike…i now cant take anything you say seriously…Cadman plaza park has more room than it knows what to do with, have you been in that park, ever? seriously? ever?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=631255472 Quinn Raymond

    The parking space loss is minimal. And the vandalism in Ft. Greene was a direct result of selfish NIMBY’s.

    These arguments aren’t grounded in reality.

  • MonroeOrange

    actually i spoke to a director at Bike share program..they said, the bikes will not be removed during the winter, which will make street cleaning the snow difficult! Also, look at Ft. Green, Stickers have defaced the signs already…how is that for concrete evidence?…any comment now?…crickets….

  • PB

    According to the City, 0.5% of street parking in the bike rack neighborhoods — or 1 in 200 spaces — have been converted to bike rack.

    This means that if just 1 out of every 200 car owners decides that the bike share program makes getting around that much easier… easier enough that they ditch their car — then parking is a wash. If it’s just one more person than 1 in 200 than the bike program actually *frees up* more parking.

    And heck, the vast minority of New Yorkers in the bike rack neighborhoods own cars anyway. Why don’t we apportion the space currently dedicated to parking in accordance to chosen mode of transport? If the city is 10% car owners, 5% bike riders, and 85% walkers/subway riders, let’s turn 1 in every 20 parking spaces into a bike rack, and 17 out of every 20 parking spaces into wider sidewalks or nice little pocket parks. ;-)

    Either that or charge for the privelege of street parking. It’s city space — why do car owners get it for free?

  • HenryAndHicks

    I agree that it’s a dangerous spot for a bike rack. I hope they re-evaluate that particular location. The rest seem fine to me.

  • MonroeOrange

    Quinn..the REALITY is someone defaced the sign, one week into the program…to think that won’t happen again and again, is not grounded in reality!

    We lost 8 spots on Clark street alone…that is 35% of the parking on that block, that is not minimal, more REALITY for you.

  • MonroeOrange

    PB…someone will be seriously injured here..to think otherwise is foolish.

  • mucow

    Hey again! So the station on Clark was installed into what was previously a no-standing zone — so no parking loss, there.

  • mucow

    and geez… I get that you’re upset about all this, but take a breather! It’s a beautiful day outside!