Thursday, July 3, 2014

Report: Citi Bike to test a valet service on Avenue A and East 7th Street


[Worst PhotoShop ever by EVG]

That's the word from amNY:

Citi Bike is taking a page from restaurants and hotels by testing a valet service at a dock where people can avoid the frustration of trying to find a place to park their ride.

The weeknight valet service, which will launch at a dock on Avenue A and 7th Street on Monday, will be manned with at least two employees who will remove bikes once the dock fills up so that a couple of spaces will be always be available from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Perhaps this will help you avoid doing the "checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance."

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS THE WORST NEWS IN THE HISTORY OF EVER! CITIBIKE IS LITERALLY HITLER AND IS SINGLEHANDEDLY RESPONSIBLE FOR RUINING MY BELOVED L.E.S./E.V./ALPHABET CITY/ETC. ANYONE CAUGHT RIDING ONE SHOULD BE STRUNG UP BY THEIR THUMBS FROM THE SHATTERED REMAINS OF LIFE CAFE AND FLAYED ALIVE. ANYONE WHO DISAGREES IS OBVIOUSLY A GENTRIFIER AND SHOULD BE STRAPPED TO ONE OF JIM POWERS' MOSAIC LIGHT POSTS AND SET ON FIRE AS A WARNING TO THE YUPPIE/YIPPIE/HIPSTER/BRO-Y/ETC SCUM. I'VE LIVED IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE LAST 400 YEARS AND IT'S TOTALLY RUINED NOW SO I'M MOVING TO SOMEWHERE LESS LAME LIKE TOLEDO.

Anonymous said...

"will be manned with at least two employees who will remove bikes once the dock fills up so that a couple of spaces will be always be available"

I assume they'll be loaded onto a truck and then relocated to midtown in the East 30's where it's nearly impossible to find one after 5PM on weekdays.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Valet parking for a bike share program. And New York City continues on it's journey to becoming one expensive joke. I really, really, really miss the late80's/early 90's in the city. It was the last time that saying you lived in New York actually meant something.

Eden Bee said...

AHAHAHAHAHA!

haha.

ha.

Billsville said...

And if you tip them a dollar they will hold your hand as you cross the street to go and meet your mommy.

THE NOTORIOUS L.I.B.E.R.A.T.I.O.N. said...

Is it lost on everyone that none of this fuckery takes a single car off the road and creates nothing but negative sentiment around Citi and biking in general?

Anonymous said...

They've been testing the valet concept and training people at East 14th Street and Avenue B for the last week. I spoke with one of their reps at that station and they said they will also be launching a valet service in the evening at East 14th Street and Avenue B from 7PM to 11PM beginning on Monday.

Walter said...

Why do dumb people think using all Caps makes them look smarter?

Dave - everywhere said...

Hardly a valet service. This would be very helpful at the docks on 8th Ave at Penn Station between 5 and 6:30 PM when it's nearly impossible to find an empty dock.

Anonymous said...

One day these comments will be in a history book

Anonymous said...

I'm a life long resident (40 years) and I own my own bike but I use that for weekend treks.

I bought a Citi bike pass that I use that for commuting. The program has flaws but all in all I am a fan. You can't win an argument that citi bike is just for gentrified new arrivals. At $90 for a year (less if you are low income), you can easily make that money back on saved metrocard fares. A lot of things are wrong with the direction of this city but the bike share program Is not one of them. This valet service is high brow in name only. They are merely trying to figure out a better way to re allocate the bikes.

Makeout said...

@ Billsville- Speaking of which who ties all these peoples shoes & cuts their meat? Knowhatimean.

Anonymous said...

So much for getting cars off the streets! Instead, City Bike is putting TRUCKS on the street, big boxy ones that do cause congestion every.single.day.

And really, that's what's great about biking, right - absolutely NO carbon footprint, and now with VALET service! (For a small tip, I'm sure the valets will dry the bike seat off in rainy weather, too!)

This is just perfect for a city where the East Village is now becoming a "luxury" area with places like the "nathaniel" asking up to $11,000/month in rent. Trustafarians need help - valet help - with their City Bikes!

The whole story reads like the script of a SNL sketch.

Anonymous said...

anonymous at 4:23PM: Just who do you think you are making sense like that? Don't you know that on E.V.Grieve EVERYTHING that is new after you moved here is bad? That all change is horrible and bad and means the death of the New York that you knew at the instant of your being plopped down into this city? And that everyone who moved here after you are transplants from Ohio/Iowa/Kansas or somewhere else and that even though you, too, came from somewhere else that doesn't matter because you're so obviously superior to everyone else? And that CitiBike in particular is the devil and the cause of the ruination of all that was good and holy in New York? If you don't know all of that, you have no business commenting on E.V.Grieve, have no business living in the East Village and you must pack up and leave and go back to Ohio/Iowa/Kansas immediately.

Mark Hand The Catchman said...

Ummm... weren't there just Indians living here 400 years ago? Did they use CitiHorses?

As far as this programme.. I did it for a year and hung it up, too unreliable when you need it or need to park the thing.. the cracked seats which become water sponges according to every CitiBike worker I've seen at kiosks nothing will be done for it.
Got me a cheapo Huffy, working on getting some flatproof innertubes and I'z be good for local jaunts and have my good Specialized for touring.

Anonymous said...

I'm too bored to read prior posts, but yes we were too lax in scaring off awful 60 blks north douchery. Now , our two choices are : let nature run it's course .(ie: poor robbing new awful until they move.) or be incredibly vocal of your unwillingness to accept veal children from who cares land. They do not react well to stranger criticism . Just do a subtle Yiddish yuck as you pass one . If enough of us yech them they will probably break down or move , maybe 60 blks north , as they should .

Anonymous said...

Eww, there are a few mean girl comments on here, now girls, the longherseyester population would appreciate that more.

Anonymous said...

8:23, there are very strong sedatives for what you are feeling.

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind that "valet" is amNY's term, echoed by EVGrieve. It's not a valet service. If readers used their brains, they could have figured that out themselves. Having a system of immediately relocating bikes is a great idea. It does not create negative sentiments -- those sentiments already exist in the person harboring them.

Giovanni said...

Ummm @7:14 AM. I guess you didn't read the official CitiBike blog, which calls it a Bike Valet Service and is expanding it for the fireworks this weekend. Now please apologize to EVGrieve and have fun while sitting on that waterlogged sponge of a seat on your CitiBike this weekend.

via the CitiBike blog:

July 4th Bike Valet Service

For Citi Bike riders eager to watch the awesome pyrotechnics display, Citi Bike will be providing Valet Citi Bike Parking at two stations this Friday night, ensuring that you’ll be able to drop off or pick up a bike at either location.

In Manhattan, Valet Citi Bike Parking will be available at the Pearl St & Hannover Sq. station. In Brooklyn, the service will be in operation at Henry St & Poplar St.

DrGecko said...

@ anon 7:14

"If readers used their brains"

Welcome to EVGrieve, and keep those laughs coming.

Anonymous said...

2:05AM, Your xenophobic comments are ugly. Perhaps we should hope that some of them get shot by "the locals" as well? Why stop there though? We might as well shoot them ourselves since it really is war we're talking about right?

Anonymous said...

People *do* need to use their brains, and stop being influenced by marketing language. This is no more a valet service than the new Tide is revolutionary.