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Will Citi Bike Launch In Greenpoint Before The G Train Shuts Down This Summer?
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 11, 2013
Modified Jun 11, 2013
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 11, 2013
Modified Jun 11, 2013
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It could almost be a movie plot. A very boring, transportation-based movie plot. Like Speed, but like, if Keanu Reeves were played by a Citi Bike, and the flaming bus were played by an online petition. Here we go:
In October of 2012, Hurricane Sandy clobbered the mid-Atlantic, swallowing houses, lives, and several dinosaurs. Nothing was spared—not even the G train, whose already shaky reputation was further wounded by the storm's Unrelenting Salt Water (21 Jump Street, She's the Man). As a result, the MTA announced it would shut down service to the line's three northernmost stations for 12 consecutive weekends, beginning on July 6th, 2013, to repair the tunnel's corroded pipes. People will be stranded. Relationships will strain, then snap. Lives will be torn asunder.
But one man, Councilman Stephen Levin (Any Given Sunday) has a solution: Get Citi Bike off the ground in northern Williamsburg and Greenpoint—before the July 6 shut down. Can he do it? Can Citi Bike replace the the hobbled G train? Can Citi Bike...can save us? (View the full theatrical trailer here.)
Last week, Levin's office started a petition that pushes for an expedited roll-out of the Citi Bike racks slated to open in his district—ahead of the Great G Train Shut Down of 2013.
"We're calling on DOT to move expeditiously to implement the program where it's already been cited," he told us today—ideally, before the scheduled service shutdown. "It would provide another method of transit. It's going to be a big challenge for folks that live in Greenpoint."
The petition has amassed more than 300 supporters, but what it really needs is funding. Levin said he appealed to the MTA to pony up the cash to get the stations installed, but has yet to receive a response.
"We were never expecting it was going to be in the very first grouping, but it was always the plan to put it there," he said. "It's just a question of resources."
Of course, the very same force that is shuttering the G train was also the very obstacle that's delayed Citi Bike's north Williamsburg debut.
"Sandy caused a lot of damage—damage to the G train, damage to bike share. If it's in my district, it got hit bad," he said. "It's a reminder of the awesome power of nature."
Tagged
citi bike
g train
greenpoint
MTA
williamsburg
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Lauren Evans
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