EVG regular Stephen Popkin notes that the Citi Bikes docking stations arrived on the north side of St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue (in front of the former Holiday Cocktail Lounge) ... around 1 a.m. (Per Stephen's estimation, the installers were working quietly...)
Plans called for 31 docks here in a no-parking area of the street.
Updated:
Well, later, someone felt compelled to write RAMEN on the docking station...
...and another angle via Shawn Chittle...
Meanwhile! On East Fifth Street at Avenue C... EVG reader Mish noted that workers installed the docking station here around 11 p.m.
Per Mish: "We're already taxed as it is parking wise, and the street is a dead end. Really failing to see the logic in this choice of location. I'm not sure they realize how much of an adverse effect this is going to have on commuters in the neighborhood."
How do you know the thing was tagged RAMEN? It looks like NEMAR to me.
ReplyDelete@ DrGEcko
ReplyDeleteNEMAR strikes again!
Enterprising Business alert: Once we know the size of the Citibank logo, a 'freedom' strip could be designed to cover the logo easily. Such a self adhesive strip could be sold to grateful riders to hide our embarrassment.
ReplyDelete"I'm not sure they realize how much of an adverse effect this is going to have on commuters in the neighborhood."
ReplyDeleteDoes Mish really equate driving with commuting in a city of 8 million? Anyone able to think for themselves realizes that it's going to have a very positive impact on the commuters in the neighborhood.
Who needs a car in Manhattan? And if you do need a car, why are you entitled to free parking on a city street that is paid for by the taxes of all NYC residents of which only less than 20% have cars?
ReplyDeleteIf I lived at Ave. C and I didn't have a car, I'd be pretty damn happy CitiBike was coming in. It'll be easier and faster to get to the Ave. A L stop or the Second Ave. F stop.
Yeah, what Ben K. said. I'm sorry, but I can only laugh at the outpouring of concern for the poor put-upon drivers of NYC. Look, driving is a dead end in New York, especially in Manhattan. It's just too small a land mass with far too many cars as it is. Cars chew up the streets at taxpayer expense, take up a ton of space Citibike terminals or no, are a serious menace to pedestrians and cyclists, pollute the air and contribute to global warming. Policy should be directed towards making it prohibitively expensive to drive in the city if it isn't already. We have plenty of public transportation options and yeah, this city is eminently bikeable. So let's put down the tiny violins for the car crowd, eh?
ReplyDeleteI love cars but hey, I won't own one in Manhattan. If someone really wants to own a car, just be responsible enough to realize that one day, you might have to put it in a garage and pay for parking.
ReplyDeleteLook, I use a car from time to time when necessary whether it's going out to get something in bulk or having to move something. I just use Zipcar or Hertz On Demand when I do need a car.
Most other times I walk, ride that rail, or take a cab. Oh, and soon I'll be riding a bike without having to worry if a part will get stolen or if I need to take it back home in case my plans change.
If you're going to live in NYC, embrace public transpo.
All this sudden impassioned defending of motor vehicle operators is totally misguided. East Villagers, go outside, take a look at the cars on the road and who is driving them. Are these people your friends? Chances are no, they are probably people you'd rather they just crossed back over whatever bridge or tunnel they arrived through and go back home. So ask yourself, why am I suddenly so passionate about the rights and privileges of car drivers. Face the facts, its because you are contrarian, you don't like the idea of bike-share and you are grasping for whatever logical premise you can find so you can rail against it. Listen, I am not a fan of Citi, or of having docking stations planted everywhere. But I'm trying to see the bigger picture here. If this system can improve urban life for a lot of people, then it has to be conceded to. I am not a bikeshare guy but I will admit it has the potential to be progressive. The MTA situation is certainly not improving, what would you have people do, keep on paying higher and higher fares, for increasingly slow and undependable service? Maintaining free street parking for motor vehicles is not the answer to anything. In your heart you know this is right.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me like Raymond needs to be reminded of the correct spelling of his own name.
ReplyDeleteI just saw in today's news that in Toronto, Bixi (the parent company of Alta, which runs Citi Bike) will default on its loans. Either the city of Toronto will take over the bike share program, or more likely, the bikes and stations will be sold off for parts and scrap metal.
ReplyDeleteCiti Bike already has an outstanding debt of $41 million to Goldman Scahs. How long before NYC taxpayers are on the hook for that loan?
So the bikeshare operator's a hot mess. $41 million's dirt cheap for a new public transportation option, and they aren't going to be building any new subway lines anytime soon. Next!
ReplyDeleteBeing installed on 3rd right by the Duane Reade.
ReplyDelete@ anon 10:35
ReplyDeleteCitiBike doesn't even compare to Toronto's Bixi. That's like saying well, subways in Los Angeles don't work so we don't need them here in New York City.
A more appropriate comparison, albeit the city density and population don't match up is Capital Bikeshare in DC. There, the system is almost operationally profitable, which is amazing considering that no public transportation system in the nation is profitable.
Toronto just did it wrong. Bixi was confined to a certain location with only 1000 bikes and about 80 stations. DC, on the other hand, started off in a wide enough area to cover where people work and where people live. As it got more popular, they started expanding out. This was to make sure that for a city with only about 500,000 residents, it would work.
NYC, on the other hand, is dense and has plenty of people. Manhattan alone has over 1 million residents. If DC could do it and cover a wide portion of the city, NYC can certainly do well covering Manhattan south of 59th Street and downtown Brooklyn.
11:40 am = PR for the mayor's office. Nice try.
ReplyDeleteYou know what else would be an appropriate comparison to DC? Montreal, in terms of what you described. But guess what, Bixi also did not work in Montreal and now taxpayers are bailing-out that program.
It's working in DC because, like you said, anon. 11:40am, its public transportation system sucks. NYC's public transportation is fine and dandy. No need for these toys for tourists in guise for the locals to use. And no, a transient -- a locust, a long-term tourist, someone who is only here for 2-3 years on mommy and daddy's dime to party and consume and use NYC as a stomping ground -- does not constitute local.
And your comparison to subways in Los Angeles not working therefore so we don't need them here in New York City? Huh? NYC has the subways first. And they tried to have it in LA. So, in your logic and reasoning and comparison, Bikeshare works in DC, and NYC should try it, but it won't since much like your example, subways do not work in LA.
Keep having those Kool-aid froyos.
@ anon 11:40
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word that Capital Bikeshare is almost operationally profitable, but it didn't start off in a $41 million hole. Sadik-Khan sold bike share to New Yorkers by saying that it wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime, but there is no way Citi Bike will ever be able to repay the Goldman Sachs loan without a taxpayer bailout.
Uh, 12:11? The Paris Metro whoops our subway's tuckus, and their bikeshare program is crazy popular. With Parisians.
ReplyDeleteBut NYC is not Paris or Copenhagen because we all drive big cars here unlike those lah-dee-dah yurpeans or something, I suppose...
Being critical of this program does not mean your sticking up for drivers, if you think bikeshare means there are going to be less people driving you're sadly mistaken.
ReplyDeleteParisians on bikes esp. women are sexier. Plus, Pasisians are more courteous to each other, e.g. they step away whenever they get a mobile phone call. EV narcissists? me, me, me, I'm on a bike lane, get out of the way and bow down to meeeeeee.
ReplyDelete@ anon 12:55: There will be fewer drivers, but not because they'll be on bikes. The availability of bikes won't discourage people from driving; reducing the amount of free on-street parking probably will.
ReplyDeleteAll this gloom-and-doom... seriously, can we just take a pill, relax, and wait to see what happens? All of these stations are moveable and none of this is permanent.
This isn't public transportation, any more than Hertz is public transportation. If you have credit approval by the US Treasury, then you can use the service. If you've never driven in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, you haven't lived.
ReplyDeleteSadly, my girl and I have moved to LA (the "other" big city) - a large part of it due to mayor bloombum's oppressive stomping of NYC's character and changing MY home city to Anytown, USA with big box stores, urban strip malls, 7-11s - basically anything that is contrary to the unique nature this city was built on and has had for its life. Oddly - I still skate or walk to the subway here and use it regularly. It does work IF your work and home are close. I'll tell you this - the traffic here is ABSURD and not to be believed. I bought a car to move here and drive it as little as possible (traffic, environment, economic reasons in that order) and will be selling it when a buyer wants it. We've been here a month. I've figured out that the buses are a better alternative to sitting in traffic myself (for $1.50 you can drive, Mr. Busdriver - thank you). It is the NYer in me that uses common sense and logic in my decision to use public transport of any sort. My girl has the bike and is the "biker" - I'm the skater and native NYer. I do NOT like the corporatization of my city (or any other for that matter) and wish it was possible for someone other than a HUGE corporation like Citi to do a project like this. But that is the new order - corporations and governments with dirty handshakes full of cash... Screw them all. Buy a bike, a skateboard, a scooter - new sneakers and stop supporting these giants.
ReplyDeleteRamen noodles!
ReplyDeleteScooby, read "City of Quartz" now that you're in L.A.
Hey Spock, would it shock you to learn that the city is provided hugely discounted annual Citibike memberships to people on government assistance or in NYCHA housing?
ReplyDeleteAnd no, you don't need credit. You can use a debit card to get a membership as well.
Maybe you should read Citibike's website before fabricating something else about this system to complain about.
@ 12:11
ReplyDeleteJust because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't mean they work for the Mayor.
One of the main reasons that Bixi in Montreal isn't profitable is because the system goes down for the winter. From what I understand, Montreal is much farther north of New York City or Boston, for that matter, and so there are changes in their system that don't apply to NYC.
To answer you question on my LA comparison, it was just to show that comparing NYC to Toronto is just as absurd as comparing LA to NYC, as you so aptly demonstrated as well.
Also, yes, NYC has a great public transportation system but that doesn't mean CitiBike cannot supplement the system. DC doesn't have a horrible transportation system but it has connected neighborhoods that don't have good Metro service. The same can be said of Manhattan's East side. For someone who claims to be a local, it's well known that Manhattan's East Side could use another subway line (Second Ave. Subway) and that generally, the public transportation options are limited. The same goes for Alphabet City. CitiBike to Alphabet City will have similar impacts that Capital Bikeshare had to Adams Morgan area of DC. It makes it easier for people to commute or to even get to a subway.
Also, just as NYC had a subway for over a hundred years, there are other cities that now have decent bikeshare systems that had subways and buses for nearly a hundred years, such as Boston, London, and Paris.
If they are all doing decent, I'd think NYC will do OK. At any rate, why shoot down something that doesn't have much of a start up cost when compared to other public transportation options (building BRT, subway, etc is much more expensive in starting costs)?
Anon. 3:50 pm = CitBike's PR. Keep trying. Corporate speakease. Would it shock me? If I say yes or no, it goes both your way.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is on government assistance, most likely (s)he is probably also relying on Access-A-Ride. Would it shock you that (s)he can't ride a bike? Discounted, yeah right. Much like this program is for public use. Smokes and mirrors. You're a Citi corporate shiller 'aight.
It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.
CitiShare is unwise and illogical. Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal.
Ok, 4:18 PM, you work for Citi. Enjoy your bonus.
ReplyDeleteI suppose debates can't be done in the Internet age. Don't agree and don't know how to respond with logical arguments, just label them a troll.
ReplyDeleteSad.
If you're going to live in Manhattan, embrace walking, biking, and public transportation.
ReplyDeleteBikes = Good.
Say it with me...
Bikes = Good.
Bikes = Good.
Bikes = Good.
If you want to argue rules, enforcement, funding, and placement, cool. But at least start from there... Or just move to the suburbs and get yourself a nice SUV.
CitiBike is only making this worse by having really young people come on here en masse and counterpoint with weak, corporate talking points.
ReplyDeleteNOBODY is that enthusiastic about these bikes nor would anyone go out of their way to continuously counterpoint every comment unless they were associated with the project.
Even the people like myself who are against the program aren't carrying on as much as the CitiFolk.
Atomic, Spock: The only connection I have to Citibike is that I purchased a membership. That's it.
ReplyDeleteHeck, I'll come clean and un-Anon myself (although I'm not responsible for all - or even most - of the pro-Citibike comments on here).
These aren't talking points; they're facts. A great deal of the comments I've seen on here are blatant misinformation and paranoia. The misinformation deserves correction. I can't counter the paranoid with anything other than, "let's wait and see." Which, in general, is what I think we should do with this.
I do get a good laugh, though, reading the accusations of being a shill for a company who stands to make no profit off of bikeshare!
I support this system because I will use it. I have used similar systems in other cities and want to see the successes replicated here. That's why I'm defending it. And given the amount of time I wasted doing it today, I probably lost money doing it.
Chris, I've found the same thing to be true (shrill misinformation) regarding 7-Eleven opening on Avenue A and 11th. You just have to get used to it.
ReplyDelete