The Citi Bikes Are Here in Brooklyn Heights!

By on May 25, 2013 7:14 am in Brooklyn Heights

This morning we received as dispatch on Twitter from BHB reader @jfj4 showing us that the Citi Bikes have arrived at Clark and Henry Streets. Are you ready for this jelly?

And yet one reader is not too happy about the nighttime lighting but mostly claiming they block Access-a-Ride access….


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  • PB

    A ray of blue sunshine on an otherwise dreary day.

  • Lori

    Someone asked me, “Where are the helmets?” But, according to the law, “Children up to 14 years of age must wear bicycle helmets; child passengers up to age four must
    ride in secure safety seats.” Adults are not required to wear helmets and I doubt people using those bikes will have helmets with them.

  • Bloomy

    Got my card in the mail yesterday and have it on my keychain ready to go. Can’t wait for the system to be up and running this weekend.

  • David on Middagh

    Eh. Most kids under 14 won’t be using these commuter bikes. Those that do may “BYOH”, but I never wore a helmet as a kid (in another city) and I never have worn one in New York City.
    Some research shows that drivers give non-helmet-wearing cyclists a wider berth than cyclists with a helmet and a more “pro” look.

  • PB

    They require that you have to be 14 or 16 (I don’t recall which) to even use these bikes so the helmet requirement for youth is moot.

  • cat

    They sure are here and there is not doubt who the sponsor is. The bikes are rolling advertisements. Where does the fee money go? It seems expensive to me. If you just want to ride the bike once from say BH to PS, $10 is too much. Also, can you rent one without a previous mailed card? If it strikes you when you get off the subway that it might be fun, can you rent on the spur of the moment?

  • Joe A

    There is a great invention called the Google. Try it sometime you might like it.

  • Bike Me

    I’m all for the bike program and promoting the use of bikes as a transportation modality. However, the placement decisions by the numb nuts who made these decisions in many cases are just patently absurd, e.g., plastered across the entry way to a major apartment building, cutting off access between the building occupants and their vehicles. There is more than enough open spaces throughout the city where these racks can be placed other than in front of homes, or small businesses, to the detriment of the home / business owners. Can we have some common sense applied to these placement decisions, not to mention community input?

  • Head Scratcher

    @Cat: “The bikes are rolling advertisements.” Ummm, yeah, when a corporate entity agrees to subsidize the cost of fitting out and running the bike program they are entitled to some return on their investment in the form of brand visibility. Duh. “Where does the fee money go?” Did it dawn on you that the bike program incurs expenses to fabricate, place and maintain the racks, bikes and other infrastructure of the bike program?

  • Greg

    You have to be 16: http://citibikenyc.com/faq

  • Joe A

    Again with the community input? Where were you when they held hundreds of community meetings?

  • jivika

    yay!

  • David on Middagh

    It’s strange that the administrators didn’t fix the dock placement at 10 Clinton before adding the bikes. It will be more difficult, now. (I mean of course that the kiosk and a rack of four–maybe two racks–are blocking the straight-line path that people use as a crosswalk along the Cadman Plaza West side of the striped triangle.

    And not to single out the kiosk/rack, but one of those planters needs to get in line, too.

  • petercow

    >plastered across the entry way to a major >apartment building, cutting off access between >the building occupants and their vehicles

    Is that a joke? Seriously.

  • Hicksanthrope

    Where were the notices for said meetings? Taped to the bottom of a file cabinet in a basement, guarded by a lion?

  • Hicksanthrope

    I don’t know if I’m buying that argument about being safer because I don’t look like a pro. This town is full of crazy cabbies and dangerous drivers. I love the idea of Citibikes and would really like it to succeed. But if I don’t have a helmet, I’m not riding.

  • David on Middagh

    Food for thought (adults only):

    “Wearing a helmet puts cyclists at risk, suggests research”

    http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2006/9/11/overtaking110906.html

  • HenryLoL

    Bike Share is going to be great! Note: the cards are for annual members. Spur of the moment riders can use a credit card.

  • Joe A

    Actually there were a few notices right here on the BHB.

    How were the station locations selected?
    Over the past year, DOT has conducted a very intensive and participatory public input process, meeting frequently with 15 Community Boards, conducting over 300 meetings with business improvement districts, property owners, civic associations, institutions and elected officials, and holding more than 30 events to demonstrate the bike share equipment. The City has held well-attended community planning workshops in every part of the bike share area and received almost 10,000 suggestions and 65,000 votes for station sites on the interactive siting map.

    The input gathered through this process has created the site plan for the bike share and the result reflects the public’s preference for how the system should work in different parts of the city.

    We’re you expecting a personal invitation?

  • Mike R

    Bah! Humbug!