Wonder when they're gonna start scalping CitiBike parking spaces in the East Village. Just spent 5 minutes circling around in the rain.
— ryan sutton (@qualityrye) October 18, 2013
Just over two months into the Citi Bike program, it seems like the $41 million dollar six-year sponsorship is on its way to paying off. Citi Bike is, in many ways, the definition of branded utility.
“So far, everything is pointing in an extremely positive direction, more than I would have expected,” said Elyssa Gray, head of creative for North America marketing at Citi. “The way that the city has embraced the program is truly remarkable.”
According to Gray, Citi got involved with the bike-share program because the bank felt that the program was consistent with what the Citi brand stands for: progress and helping people achieve goals.
“Citi’s home base is here in New York, and we want to make sure that people who live in New York City feel the value that Citi is bringing to this community of ours through this green initiative,” she said.
"The availability just follows the rhythms of the day — in the mornings during the rush to go to work there are no bikes, and after work there are no [parking spots] because everyone has brought them back.
When I first decided to use the bikes to ride to the train, I was late to work a few days because I searched a few stations around me, and couldn't find any bikes. Evenings have the exact opposite problem; on Monday evening, I checked 6th and B, 7th and A, then finally caught someone pulling out at St. Mark's and 1st and rushed to get into the spot.
I wasn't the only one slowly riding around in circles waiting for a free spot; I noticed at least 2 other riders that I kept intersecting. Somehow, weekends aren't that much better. On Saturday, I was late to meet a friend because I spent time again doing the checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance. On a Saturday afternoon!
So, unfortunately, I think I might need to shift my thinking around the bikes as something that I can use when the opportunity arises, versus a reliable, regular transportation method.
I think our neighborhood really needs additional stations. I originally imagined a huge boost to the quality of life in the area, but it's not quite there yet."
"There have been a few signs of improvement recently, but not being able to find/dock a bike is still a frustrating issue. It used to be that if I left for work after 8:35 a.m., I knew not to expect to get a bike at my usual rack at 13th and A. Now it's less predictable — some days there might be a half-full rack, others all the bikes might have the red light on, and other's it'll be completely empty even if I'm early.
Same thing happens at night – if I leave work after a certain hour, I prepare myself for a trip around the East Village looking for a spot. Monday was a new record, when it took me 7 docks to find an open slot (13th and A, 10th and A, 14th and B, 12th and D, 9th and C, 5th and C, and 6th and B, until finally catching someone leaving at 7th and A). I think the most frustrating thing about those joyrides is that the app consistently says that openings are available at those docks.
I love the idea of Citi Bikes and still think they're the most exciting thing to happen to the city in a long time, but I hope they can pull this together."
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
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
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.”
Bike Share will launch May 27. Issues that must be dealt with immediately, such as a blocked driveway or loading zone, should be emailed to the community board office (info@cb3manhattan.org) and we will work with DOT to have these sites inspected immediately.
There are other concerns regarding placement of installations or size of installations, or the number of installations in close proximity to each other. We are asking people to wait until bike share is in operation for a month to see what works and what doesn’t. What installations are not being used to capacity? What installations do not accommodate the number of bikes needed?
The Community Board 3 Transportation Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 16 to hear concerns. DOT will attend the meeting to note these concerns and address or inspect and follow up.
Wing Two Bedroom apartment located at 543 East 5th Street in the haert [sic] of the East Village.
Apartment features two bedrooms, separate kitchen and tile bath. Locatde [sic] steps to all the great bars, restaurants and shopping of this great neighborhood. Citi Bike station just around the corner.
