Get your Citi Bike out of my parking lot! As program expands, New Yorkers complain

Dining room outdoors. Return of alternative side parking. And now even more Citi bikes.

No wonder it’s impossible to find a parking spot.

People who live and work in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights say that with the third phase of the Citi Bike expansion, which will add more than 100 new bikes to Brooklyn, the new docks are eating up precious parking spaces.

“It’s rubbish,” Tyler Hawkins said of the expansion, which has placed a new bike dock right next to his workspace. Hawkins is dean of the elementary academy Excellence Boys Charter School, a K-12 school in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Citi Bikes moored in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Hawkins said the Citi Bike expansion does not adequately address the needs of the community. His school does not have parking passes and no parking, so many teachers and staff, including himself, try to arrive at school half an hour early so they have time to find a spot. Parents often double parking.

“We have, as you can see, parking 0.0%,” standing on the side of the school, Hawkins circled around his finger. “We had four extra parking spaces here. Now we don’t have [space] park.”

The station is one of hundreds looking to expand the bike-share program to Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, covering 35 square miles and adding about 24,000 bikes to the system.

The expansion will bring Citi Bike to Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Ocean Hill and Flatbush, responding to criticism that the first two phases of the program favored richer, whiter parts of New York.

But for others, it’s another nuisance. During the pandemic, as cars surged, outdoor dining replaced thousands of parking spaces, and cycling became more popular, the debate over how to allocate New York’s city streets and free parking spaces only intensified.

“There is a fight going on all over the city for street space,” said Anthony Busseret, chairman of the Brooklyn Community Council 3. “And it is very ingrained that the street belongs – for many drivers – that it belongs to them. And I think it’s hard for people to deal with that… I think we should find a way to share the roads a little more fairly.”

Busseret said some of the backlash could have been prevented. He doesn’t mind expanding the program in the area, but he was disappointed that the Department of Transportation and Citi Bike didn’t incorporate more board feedback into the plan.

Of the 31 new bike docks, Busseret said his team sent back 24 recommendations for modifications to keep the expansion going smoothly, including eight that he and his team deemed “critical.” He says the DOT has only accepted part of the recommendations.

“It just feels like they weren’t interested in going further than they went,” Busseret said.

“DOT did extensive community outreach work on station placements before expanding our popular Citi Bike service to Brooklyn and Queens,” said Mona Bruno, DOT spokeswoman. “We’re proud to be able to connect more New Yorkers to this life-saving service and promote safe, green and healthy modes of transportation.”

Citi Bikes moored in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

City Council District 36, where Bed Stuyvesant is located, has the fewest protected bike lanes in the city, with no protected bike lanes in the area, according to the Transportation Alternatives Spatial Equity Tool. It also ranks 13th for road traffic injuries in the city’s 51 boroughs.

Umar Njim, 28, a Lyft driver who lives in Ocean Hill, was excited about the expansion.

He was thrilled to see a new dock right outside his house. As a Lyft driver, he got a free Citi Bike membership and felt like a king riding around town with his friends on unlimited 45-minute rides.

“Everyone can get a bike anywhere. It’s great because people can borrow bikes when it’s convenient and convenient for them,” said Njim.

Catrice Phillips lives in Brownsville and works as a laboratory assistant at a nearby hospital. She said she liked the program overall, but she wished there were more docks on the sidewalks.

“I think it’s a good idea – everyone can drive, get well, keep the atmosphere going,” said Phillips, 43, who drives partly due to arthritis in her knees. “But we also have to think about drivers who still need a parking space. When you see that one day there are parking spaces, and two days later there is an entire Citi Bike dock, it’s very annoying.”

To pick up his son from school, Hean Varese, a father of three, parked his car together.

“I don’t think it’s necessary,” grumbled Varèse, 36, who works in the security services. “It’s inconvenient to post this here, for the neighbors and for the people who come to pick up the kids.”

Citi bikes waiting to be rented at W. 52nd St.  in Manhattan.

Felicia Price said parking is a major problem in the area, and having a Citi Bike stop right where she picks up school kids highlights that.

“It’s terrible,” said Price, a property manager who lives nearby. “You come home from work. You can’t find parking anymore because some people parked their cars there to cover it up so you can’t even tell who owns it.”

Katie Park Price, a Brooklyn-based organizer for the nonprofit Transportation Alternatives, said these kinds of complaints are typical.

In 2013, the program became very popular after some initial difficulties.

“When you look at the level of use and the docks themselves, you can see that they are being used by people in the area,” Park Price said. “It’s not uncommon to hear complaints when a Citi Bike appears in an area… but I would point to the use of the Citi Bike as an indication of its popularity, rather than focusing on a few people who might be complaining about the loss of a bike. there are few places where so many people will benefit.”

In total, the new bike racks will take up about 90 parking spaces.

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