CB 3 committee booked IS 131 auditorium to handle the big crowd for the #CitiBike gripe session. 25 people showed up. pic.twitter.com/feIYrhrAKU
— Stephen Miller (@miller_stephen) July 16, 2013
... and later...
All of the speakers so far have been very supportive of bike-share. One wanted to ensure station moved for construction is put back after.
— Stephen Miller (@miller_stephen) July 16, 2013
He tweeted that he didn't stay the whole time... so maybe the full-blown outrage came later...
Updated 3:40
Ah, The Lo-Down has just filed a report on the meeting... A passage:
Linda Martella said she, too “likes the idea” of the program– just not in front of her store. Martella, owner of Veniero’s Pastry on East 11th Street, said the street is already narrow, and the Citi Bikes across the street took over seven parking spaces and impedes the flow of traffic, especially when there are delivery trucks on the commercial street.
“We are especially concerned with the holiday time when [customers] come to pick up their orders,” Martella said. “We now have lost these parking spaces, making it difficult for the customers to carry these orders out.”
Read the post here.
BoweryBoogie also has a recap of the meeting here.
no outrage. I went. The only serious complaint was about a bikeshare station in chinatown that turned out to be in CB2. (I think people were confused by the location of the meeting so far south of CB3.) More than one person from the Grand Street houses wanting more bikes because they are such a hike from the nearest subway.
ReplyDeleteI think the number of Citibike detractors is equal to the number of people who comment anonymously on blogs.
ReplyDeletea lot of folks don't have the time or energy to attend meetings about citibike, or a lot of other issues in the neighborhood. a person can sign a petition, make a call or a comment, send an email or a letter and/or go to a meeting - every hour of the day - and come away feeling that things are totally out of control and that they have no real say in what is happening in their neighborhood, the city or the country.
ReplyDelete25 folks at a cb public hearing is not a good barometer of how folks feel about an issue.
blue glass,
ReplyDeleteThe silent majority, eh?
another instance of vocal supporters creating and following an issue. I guarantee you that 98% of the residents had no idea this meeting was going on. like most municpal meeting.
ReplyDeletepop quiz. when is the next NYC planning board meeting.
Another crucial takeaway from the Lo-Down's post:
ReplyDelete"The closest train stations to the apartments are at least 10 minutes’ walk away, at East Broadway and Essex St., and recent cuts to bus service make getting around more difficult..."
The LES needs better, more dependable public transportation, not corporate advertising that panders to tourists and suburbanites.
Wow what a turnout. Maybe Citibikes is only a red hot issue on the blogs.
ReplyDeleteI walked by Veniero's last Friday and don't remember a Citibike station that took up seven parking spots. I'll have to check it out tonight.
ReplyDelete1,300 residents in Stuy Town were recently forced out of their apartments with mid lease rent hikes ranging from a few hundred dollars a month to a few thousand dollars. This is on top of the market rate rents they were paying. The Tenants Association attempted to hold protests but the families didnt show up. Point being people are complacent and assume someone else will do it.
ReplyDeleteA little black shoe polish discreetly applied to the saddles at your local Citibike corral will do wonders to discourage their use!
ReplyDeleteVive Le Resistance, and all that jazz
I still don't get it...how can anyone work up a big head of steam over bicycles? Next, the real wedge issue: Trikes! Hybrid cars!
ReplyDeleteYup, I'm boycotting Veniero's over this. Because everything has to be about *them*. They have been fine with their self-important customers double-parking and blocking the "narrow" street for years, but god forbid that non-customers would use the public space near the store to use a bike share system. F*** Veniero's.
ReplyDelete@Utherben
ReplyDelete"The LES needs better, more dependable public transportation, not corporate advertising that panders to tourists and suburbanites."
You're right. Let's get digging those subway tunnels and buying those busses. Much more tenable than a bike share program.
Look at google maps for the corner of 11th and first avenue... They have photos of the area across from Veniero's Pastry before citibikes...
ReplyDeleteOnly, at most, two parking spots....
The biggest problem with calling bike sharing a public transit program is that far too many people are unable to use them, including the young, the elderly, the handicapped, etc. Basically its a program designed only for younger people who are in good shape and too cheap to buy their own bikes. In an effort to address this problem the city is proposing the following new bike sharing programs specially designed for selected groups of disadvantaged people:
ReplyDeleteBike sharing for blind people: SeeingEyeBikes
Bike sharing for toddlers: LittleTykeBikes
Bike sharing for the elderly: OldenBikes
Bike sharing for yodelers: WooHooBikes
Bike sharing for people with cycling phobias: YikesBikes
Bike sharing for Facebook addicts: LikesBikes
Bike sharing for rude people: Take-A-HikeBikes
Bike sharing for lesbians: DykeBikes
Bike Sharing for people with incontinence: ShittyBikes
Bike sharing for midgets: IttyBittyBikes
Bike sharing for women with huge breasts: BustyBikes
Bike sharing for people who refuse to pay for anything: CrustyBikes
Anon 9:01 > Anon 7:41
ReplyDelete"The LES needs better, more dependable public transportation, not corporate advertising that panders to tourists and suburbanites."
ReplyDeleteDuh, CitiBike is public transportation. It's way cheaper than the subway if you get an annual subscription. It's way more dependable, too. No service advisories to worry about with a bike. "Tourists and suburbanites?" Pssssh. Whatever. Yeah, all those people riding Citibikes must be out of towners.
It has it's limitations -- right now, it's concentrated in Manhattan, and it's only good for short trips, both timewise and geographically speaking. But it's a great addition to our public transportation system. It's here, it works and it's driving you batshit crazy. Haha
Giovanni, I want to try all of your bikes!
ReplyDeleteGiovanni, don't forget--
ReplyDeleteBike sharing for women who like to go topless in restaurants or the public: TittyBikes
I have to agree with Anon:
ReplyDeleteYup, I'm boycotting Veniero's over this. Because everything has to be about *them*. They have been fine with their self-important customers double-parking and blocking the "narrow" street for years, but god forbid that non-customers would use the public space near the store to use a bike share system. F*** Veniero's.
Talk about appealing to tourists and suburbanites.
Re Stuy town, reason they didnt show up is because most of them are subletters and/or don;t meet the income guidelines.
ReplyDeleteI agree--those citibikes are actually heavy. I saw a petite lady struggling pushing one up a hill.
ReplyDeletesome of you motherfuckers act like there isn't any advertising on the subway.
ReplyDeletefor real though, what the hell are you afraid of? bikes? or change?
Stuy Town forced electronic photo ID keycards on everyone so it's difficult to illegally sublet with them cyber stalking.
ReplyDeleteOf course they held this meeting in the middle of summer and heat wave when most residents are out of town, and those that stayed would rather be indors in an AC room. And when thye spin another statistics on this, they'd say that the 93% of the community approved of this. And imagine people like anon. 1:20 pm and Septemous on a CitBike; they'd be running over anyone or anything on their way.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't public transportation, it's yunnie and hipster transportion. This program is for this generation where people would wait hours in line for a cronut, cupcake, latest Aplle product, Shake Shack, brunch, i.e it's another FOMO for you mofos mindless sheeple.
people talk about 7-11 corporatism, citi bike is the most laughable example of NYC desensitist corporatism.
ReplyDeleteWow this site sure does attract and encourage change haters. Maybe everyone should drive more cars or bring back horse drawn buggies like back when the east village was really cool.
ReplyDeletefyi I have lived here for 25 years and embrace change.
Not a viable mode of transportation at all. Not when bikes are first come first serve and the docks are empty. Random and unreliable.
ReplyDeleteCiti Bike is a great addition to the community.
ReplyDeleteSo what Citi sponsored our Bike Share program, that is no reason to hate on it. Citi sponsors an assortment of things, ever glanced at their ads in a subway train or bus? Who cares!
Being immature and vandalizing these bicycles is not right. Your not getting at Citi, your hurting New Yorkers, your neighbors, who are depending on Citi Bike to get around. Most riders live here in NYC.
This is an innovative form of transportation. It fills a gap. Embrace it. It cost the city little money due to sponsorship, provides useful connections with a limited carbon footprint. Yes it takes away a few parking spaces (Very little, like 1%), however it's better utilization of limited space. I wish more were located in parking versus sidewalks this is NYC after all. Most people here don't drive, even less have to.
horse drawn buggies? metaphor fail. cars are more advanced technology than bikes.
ReplyDeleteum I think that horse drawn buggy comment was sarcastic not a metaphor.. comment fail.
ReplyDeleteInnovative form of transformation? Huh?! Maybe if you were the first person to buy a penny farthing. But in 2013 there's nothing innovative about riding a bike, especially since its so dangerous and you can't do it in the rain or snow without looking like a drowned rat. Progress is NOT a bike.
ReplyDelete8:29pm
ReplyDeleteIt is not dangerous. Maybe in your mind it is, but not in NYC. Look up the stats.
I've been riding year round for years in NYC. Rain and cold is only a problem if not prepared with appropriate gear and snow days preventing riding happens 2-3 times a year. I assure you Citibikes will be used in the winter.
But I agree it is not innovative except for the ease in docking undocking. Bicycles were after all a very popular means of getting around NYC long before cars. http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/new-york-city-once-had-the-best-bike-paths-in-the-world/
Progress is recognizing what works, healthy and green and in a dense flat city like NYC, bikes are ideal. The more the better.
wow look at these brave "anonymous" people saying they are going to boycott a small mom & pop east village business on the Cities behalf because they voiced their concern over the placement of the bike vending machine in front of thier place, that's sad and pitiful...congrats, you're making Bloomberg proud.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:18am: "small mom & pop business"??? Ray's Candy Store is a small mom & pop business, NOT veniero's! They're a freaking empire of a business now and their prices are so off the charts that many of us can't afford their goods anywhere. LOL, "small mom & pop business"... Dude / lady, I don't think you've been to Veniero's in the last decade.
ReplyDeleteso if the forth generation, family owned Veniero's is an empire what would you classify Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks...a world superpower.
ReplyDeleteThe outrage against CitiBikes is mind-boggling. I don't ride the bus -- walking seems like a faster option -- but I certainly understand its role in the overall transportation landscape in NYC and support the option for my neighbors.
ReplyDelete