CitiBike: everyone loves it! Right? New Yorkers have been waiting with bated breath for the bike share program to finally get off the ground and steal some parking spaces from deserving cars and bully drivers into doing things like realizing people ride bikes around here. Well OK, so there was the guy staging a one-man sit-in in Manhattan, he didn’t like it too much. And now we can add extremely reasonable and not resorting anything rash yet people in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, who object to Citi-branded bikes on landmark residential blocks. Of course, some people are very much in favor of bike share, so you know what that means: West Side Story-style gang dance/fight a public meeting!
Brownstoner had the news about the vandalized bike share stations, as they came across one on Clermont and Lafayette. We’re not experts on Landmark Preservation Commission rules, so we can’t speak to whether or not this is some kind of brutal violation of them, though the commenters at Brownstoner are certainly having it out over there. Of course, after spending $41 million on the program, it’s probably not too much for Citi to ask that they get their name on the stations, evil multi-national bailed out bank or not.
But anyway, that public meeting. Councilwoman Letitia James is convening a meeting on the issue of whether or not the stations violate LPC rules and whether or not residents were fairly consulted about where the stations went. While there doesn’t seem to be an umbrella NIMBY group, Transportation Alternatives is of course, ready for something like this and is urging people who are pro-bike share to show up at the meeting and make themselves heard. And with language like ‘These residents say the sidewalk outside or the parking spot near their front door isn’t public property. They say, “It’s mine” the whole thing is bound to be wrapped up in a spirit of togetherness and brotherhood. Want to make your voice heard? The meeting is tomorrow at 6:30pm at the Benjamin Banneker Academy, 71-71 Clinton Avenue, Clinton Hill.
To get you excited about local democracy in action, here’s a preview of what to expect at the meeting:
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I live in Fort Greene, and whoever put up those signs is in a distant, vocal minority who sees any amenity improvement as accelerating the time from when they can no longer afford to live in the neighborhood. I feel for their anxiety.
That said, the solution to that problem is not going to be fixed by stopping improvements. Even if you buy the premise, I don't think it accomplishes anything measurable. There are too many solid, good reasons for the bikeshare system to blow it off for such a non-result.