Today on St. Mark's Place

A Con Ed crew here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... a bike ready for more rain...

Photo by Steven

Summer streets

A Margaritaville beach cruiser wastin’ away again on St. Mark’s Place near Third Avenue...



As for Summer Streets... today's the last Saturday for the annual vehicle-free event... until 1 p.m.

This table is not a bike

An EVG reader shared these photos of a bike rack on East Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square...



Per the reader: "I suspect cyclists looking for a place to park are not amused."



Earlier, I saw this table riding the wrong way on Sixth Street. And the cops didn't do a thing!

This morning on East 7th Street

Photos by Peter Brownscombe...

City Bike

Photo on East Fourth Street and Second Avenue last night by Derek Berg

Noted

Spotted on Avenue B ...photo by Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C...

Locked bike, street sign meet untimely end

Boo. Anyone see what happened here on East 10th Street at First Avenue?



Photos via BagelGuy...

Reader mailbag: Where's a good place to house a bike?

So an EVG reader just bought a new bike, which is all good. But lugging it up many flights of stairs to a small apartment isn't the best option. The reader met a cyclist from another neighborhood who pays $40 a month to store her bike in a parking garage.

To the reader, who did some research:

"The thing is, I haven't found a garage in the East Village that has anything near those prices. The garage on East 11th between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue charges nearly $140. The one across from Whiskers on East 9th Street is $90+ and the one under Bowlmor is a whopping $175/month. The only place that's reasonable in our neighborhood is the Edison garage on Lafayette and Grand, which charges $20/mo and $1/day for storage outside."

So, anyone have any suggestions on bike-storage options … that don't include taking your chances and locking it up outside?

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We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe (45 comments)

Reader mailbag: What do I do about my new neighbors who smoke pot all the time? (52 comments)

Reader mailbag: Where is a good place to get a cup of coffee in the East Village before 6 a.m.? (25 comments)

Reader mailbag: What has happened to the Cooper Station Post Office? (41 comments)

Reader mailbag: Can the landlord 'drill' the lock to gain access to my apartment for simple repairs? (15 comments)

Reader mailbag: Should we receive a rent abatement for having sporadic heat and hot water?

The bikes are coming in nicely this fall in Tompkins Square Park

[Updated] Man removes alternate side parking sign to steal bike on East 13th Street

Here's the scene on the north side of East 13th Street at Avenue A Sunday morning around 7:15... Larry Watson, proprietor of Percy's Tavern, pieced this together from the surveillance cameras... showing a man arriving on the scene with a bag of tools...



He cut the tether wire from the restraint to remove a table from Percy's sidewalk cafe... he then placed it under the alternate side parking sign ... and climbed up to remove the street sign...



... the man then lifted the bike over the pole and calmly walked away...



Watson cautions anyone from locking their bike to this sign... "as it has been prepped for the right bike to be tied to it."



Here's a Google Street View showing the sign... and bike attached to the pole...



Updated:
Police have made an arrest in this theft.

Speaking of bikes and street signs...

EVG Facebook friend Philip Daccord shares this photo from Great Jones near Lafayette ...

Reality bikes

East Seventh Street. Photo by Bobby Williams.

[Yes, I know that headline makes no sense...]

Resident offers $50 for the return of stolen bike wheel on East 10th Street

Spotted on East 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue late yesterday afternoon...

Reader report: Is a bike-accessories thief on the loose?

A reader who lives in the vicinity of Second Avenue and East Third Street sends along the following:

Someone stole my bike lights. They came with an Allen wrench and took them.

I just wanted to let people know that a thief is on the loose in the East Village and to keep their bike accessories with them.

The reader said the theft occurred yesterday morning or early afternoon.

Pre Citi-Bike launch, DOT introduces 'Street Safety Managers' to the streets

Early yesterday morning, we noticed a group of DOT employees congregating outside the Bean on First Avenue and East Ninth Street...

A DOT news release offers up an explanation:

Managers complement commercial cycling education and enforcement efforts, come in advance of May Citi Bike launch
New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan today announced that DOT Street Safety Managers (SSM) are assigned to key bike and pedestrian corridors and bridge paths in Manhattan to help enhance safety among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, further enhancing street safety as bike ridership grows, as DOT starts enforcement of commercial cycling laws and in advance of the 6,000-bike launch of the Citi Bike system. The SSMs will monitor locations with dense pedestrian and cyclist activity to reinforce existing traffic rules, advising bike riders to ride in the direction of traffic, yield to pedestrians and stop at traffic signals; instructing pedestrians to await traffic signals on the curb and not stand in bike paths; and discouraging cars from parking illegally in bike lanes. Shifts of four SSMs will be assigned to different locations in Manhattan weekdays during the morning and afternoon rush hours from April through October.

“Our streets have never been safer and we’re educating everyone on how to use them safely, and enforcing against those who don’t,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “With more people out in the warm weather we’re committed to doing even more to get out the message that safety is the rule of the road.”

EVG reader @malusbrutus passed along this photo from yesterday at Second Avenue and East Ninth Street ...



He notes that the DOT personnel are not issuing citations, rather just offering warnings.

Also!

"In related news, police officers regularly stand on the north side of 14th street and 1st avenue to ticket cyclists who break traffic laws on their morning commute."

Updated:

The bike haters at the Post has a piece on this today.

Taxpayers are forking over cash so a small army of city DOT employees can baby-sit rogue cyclists, reminding them of the basic rules of the road so they don’t pedal into pedestrians.

Read more, including some local reaction, here.

The East Village is in the 1st rollout phase of the bike-share program this May, probably for sure

Well! Thanks to Streetsblog, we have an update on the oft-delayed bike-share program. Post-Sandy problems KO'd a full rollout this spring... But there will be a more modest rollout (263 stations instead of the originally planned 420), and the East Village is in the first phase for this spring (May, probs).

The updated bike-share map (above!) shows where the docking/sharing stations will be in the neighborhood. Go here for the interactive edition.

We love you, Blue?

[File photo by Shawn Chittle]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here are your East Village bike share locations, probably

Report: Citi Bike share back on track for a May debut, probably definitely

City wants you to remove your bike — or at least what's left of it

Back in June, WNYC listeners submitted hundreds of photos of abandoned bicycles around the city ... As Alex Goldmark reported:

But most of them will not be removed by the city. ... The life cycle of a bike left to rot on NYC streets is long, and intentionally so. The complaint process is as clunky as the cast off bikes themselves and the criteria for removal is stiffer than the U-lock holding this pilfered cruiser to a bike rack on Bleecker Street.

The first obstacle is that what you consider an abandoned nuisance taking up your prime bike parking is property to someone else. Most bikes reported to the city as abandoned aren’t abandoned enough to be removed.

Anyway, in the last 7-10 days... I've noticed a handful of locked bike parts tagged as part of a "derelict bicycle removal program" ... (and dated 10/13)...

It doesn't appear to be a neighborhood-wide program... I noticed the tagged bikes on a few side streets between Avenue B and Avenue D... (and one on Avenue C) ... the top photo of two fairly broken-abandoned bikes by Cooper Union weren't tagged, for instance.

Anyway, fair warning in case you left a wheel locked up on East Ninth Street and Avenue C... oh, and have you noticed any tagged bikes on your block? Just wanted to get a feel for how widespread program is...

What happened to the sidewalk bike mechanics?

[Photo from spring 2011 by Bobby Williams]

A reader asked us if we had seen Peter Corbin, aka the Bike Man, who usually sets up shop outside Niagara during the summer.

Now that summer has come and gone ... No, we don't actually recall seeing him in some time. Ditto for Natividad Zirate, who was fixing bikes around Houston and Second Avenue. As you may recall, the Parks Department confiscated and trashed his set of tools in May 2011, as BoweryBoogie reported. A Good Samaritan came forward with new tools for Zirate.

In a feature from 2009 on Corbin and Zirate, the Times noted that:

Both men said they had a friendly relationship with the local police, but the official status of their shops is tenuous to non-existent. A permit from the Department of Consumer Affairs is needed to sell anything besides food on the sidewalk, which neither could produce. The city caps the number of permits at 853 for non-food vendors, and the waiting list for a new permit is so long and turnover is so slow, the department has stopped accepting new names.

Perhaps the Bloomberg Administration cracked down on them for good? This DIY-business mentality is certainly at odds with the direction the city is headed. Anyway, does any reader know what happened to either Corbin or Zirate? Let us know in the comment or via email.

This bike got stripped this morning on East Seventh Street

Dave on 7th notes this .... At 8:40 a.m., this bike was intact on East Seventh Street. By 11 a.m., it wasn't ...

Next Saturday: Tour the East Village and Lower East Side Bike Friendly Business District

[Via BikeNYC]

Via Felix Salmon, we learn about this event happening next Saturday, Sept. 22, starting at 11 a.m.

Join Transportation Alternatives' Bike Ambassadors on a bike tour of some of our favorite Bike Friendly Businesses to commemorate the launch of New York City's first Bike Friendly Business District, in Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side. We'll ride through the East Village and Lower East Side stopping by our favorite Bike Friendly Businesses and arts destinations along the way, including Pushcart Coffee, Veselka and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The East Village and Lower East Side Bike Friendly Business District — the first of its kind — is a network of more than 150 businesses and cultural institutions dedicated to promoting safe bike riding and better bike infrastructure in their neighborhood. Free food provided, but bring your bike.

Find more details at BikeNYC.org. The group will meet at Veselka, Second Avenue at East Ninth Street.

And you're pleased with this...? Not pleased? Being part of the first Bike Friendly Business District and all.