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 was outside all day…i do care about safety of all you bike riders…so i think me being upset about unsafe locations for racks is good for all.

  • MonroeOrange

    Eddyde..i am talking about safety…when this location is moved out of safety concerns…you will be wrong…thanks for calling me a name though, very mature.

  • mucow

    Man, I just can’t win when it comes to the specifics of the Clark St. no standing zone, can I?

    One way to look at it, though, is that those spaces are still indeed parking, just not for cars. Given that ~ 70% of the households in the neighborhood don’t own cars (http://goo.gl/wUfJz — that’s for 11201, as a whole), it’s not a totally crazy move. Basically 4 spots useful to 30% of the neighborhood have become many more spots useful to much more of the neighborhood.

  • MonroeOrange

    you could win if your points were valid…though i enjoy debating with you either way:) im not sure how a no standing zone is useful for anyone, as nothing can be done in a no standing zone, except maybe standing on your two feet;)

  • mucow

    While I might have been wrong over exactly how wide the no standing zone is, I think my general points have held up pretty well — feel free to point me to some data to prove me wrong on the merits, though :)

  • zburch

    If there are issues after they are in and functioning, then at least you can back up your argument with facts. Why obsess about the unknown? You gotta be a crazy person with nothing better to do to be so alarmist about a bike share program. I am attaching a photo I took last week of the bikes in Paris. OMG, that dude managed to get on his bike without getting run over by a car!! He must be some kind of ninja to do that with mere inches, inches I tell you!!

  • MonroeOrange

    while i always appreciate a picture of Paris, that is not an apples to apples comparison. I am talking about the corner of Atlantic and Henry in NYC, not Paris. I’ve been to Paris many times and driven there as well. Trust me, NYC has worse drivers (though any city will have bad drivers, paris included), and Atlantic and Henry is a very dangerous location for a bike rack.

    And furthermore, the fact that cars will now have to go into the bike lane if someone is removing or returning a bike, makes the situation more dangerous for riders.

    I feel like people are failing to miss my point, that this is dangerous for the riders, and while im not against the program (though i am upset about the loss of parking and the absence of these racks in the many parks we have), i am against dangerous locations. Atlantic and Henry is a dangerous spot for that bike rack, period.

  • MonroeOrange

    Pointless anger..im mentioned bike racks that are dangerous to you the rider…i don’t think pointing out potentially dangerous locations is pointless, but i guess you do.

  • zburch

    You must think New Yorkers are the klutziest, dumbest people on the planet if you believe a bike share program will be sooo much more dangerous here than other comparable cities. Methinks you are just pissed about the parking and could care less about “safety”. That, and you definitely have way to much time on your hands to debate something like this with such vigor. How about expending your energy on more noble causes instead of being endlessly annoyed by something that will hopefully benefit a lot of people in the community? Stickers, graffitii, oh my!
    I wonder how many people died today from hunger or bombs?

  • Wiley E.

    When I get knocked down and hurt by a Citi-bike, who can I sue? Can I sue the rider (does he have insurance?), Citi Bank (they got $$$), the City (they got $$$) or a combination of all three.

    Don’t be bashful lawyers. Chime in.

    Signed, an accident about to happen.

  • Eddyde

    Sounds like you are planning an insurance scam.

  • Eddyde

    it is no that people are missing your point it’s just that, those of us who think on a higher level, see your “point” as being flawed, bias and ridiculous.

  • http://twitter.com/Loscalzo John Loscalzo

    And while we’re at it, my old pal Kennedy filed this (totally biased) report about DC’s program last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rDFBtnotUU

  • David on Middagh

    Theirs are red. Why couldn’t we have enlisted Coca-Cola as sponsor?

    The program administrator (00:30) doesn’t know his Seinfeld. The character had a no-nonsense New York apartment, and never, ever was seen taking the bicycle down from the wall.

  • Wiley E.

    No, just priming the lawyers. They get 1/3 of the take, and just think about the number of accidents to come. $$$

    I’d rather not be a victim. But, it is hard to protect yourself from silly fools on 2-wheels. Accidents happen.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton
  • RM

    Every day thousands of pedestrians use this crosswalk, now blocked by the bike station. This crosswalk also has high usage by strollers and wheelchairs. Once the bikes are parked there, everyone will be forced out of the safety markings and into the street, with no protection from auto traffic.

  • Mike K

    …and just like that, BHB deleted all my posts, and blocked my account (this is ‘mucow’ posting) from the site. Pretty lame!

  • MonroeOrange

    so you are saying that me stating that Atlantic Ave and Henry is unsafe location is flawed, bias and ridiculous, when at least half of the people here i have agreed with me? Have you even looked at the bike rack on that corner, or ever driven a car down henry street during rush hour?

  • MonroeOrange

    Bombs and hunger…what on earth are you talking about? Im talking about safety of these riders at that location..period….if you don’t care about safety that’s on you…have a nice day…

  • yoohoo

    Quiet down! Bike-share stations will be evaluated and adjustments made, if usage or lack thereof warrants it.
    Another curious location that has not been mentioned is on Montague between Court and Clinton, in front of Citibank. One does wonder why the docks are in the street instead of on the wide sidewalk, as that block is already a total disaster with cars waiting to be garaged, vans discharging and waiting for patients, etc., all double-parked, and emergency vehicles being stuck on the block.
    The bikes are not meant for sightseers but for residents and people who work in the vicinity and must travel short distances for errants and such. While subscriptions, including day passes, allow unlimited trips, the bikes must be dropped off after 30 minutes of use, otherwise hefty fees apply. This means that a user must be at a docking station every 30 minutes in order not to incur these additional fees.

  • zburch
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    No matter how much food you give MO there will never be any thought…

  • TMS

    I predict many people will get hurt and killed from these bikes. BAD IDEA until bicyclists learn to follow traffic laws. It’s not the bikes, it’s the idiots who ignore the laws. (Ted lights, one way streets, no riding on sidewalks, speeding). TICKET THEM!!!

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    What is “speeding” on a bicycle?

  • Marathoner

    anything in public can collect stickers – fire hydrants, mailboxes, parked cars… should we not allow those either?

    keep calm and pedal on

  • MonroeOrange

    Arch…most people are agreeing with my points, which are thoughtful as they pertain to the safety of these riders….but obviously you don’t care about their safety…bravo, you are great disservice to this neighborhood.

  • Marathoner

    three weeks into this program, no one will remember what it was like not to have the bikes there

    i’d rather have a bike station than three parked cars – they’re barely noticeable, you can see much better, walk between the slots/bikes and god forbid you ever decide to use one… it’s going to be quite nice

    all this complaining for nothing – just wait… they’ll be as noticeable and inconvenient as a fire hydrant or tree pit

    as soon as the bikes start appearing, people will start complaining that there aren’t Enough – just wait! There’s no hazard in having a bike station where people park a few bikes

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    First, I don’t see “most people agreeing with you”.

    Second, the pole is showing between 3/4 and 2/3 of the people in favor of the Bike Share program.

    Third, I have driven my car by the Henry & Atlantic docking station several times; as a driver and a cyclist I don’t see any cause for alarm.

  • morralkan

    It seems that it would be nigh on to impossible for that biker to get hit by a car since there isn’t even a car in sight. Are you saying that the streets in Brooklyn Heights are as devoid of cars as this Parisian rue seems to be?