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Plaza Hotel Says Citi Bike Racks Are Too Damn Loud
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Feb 5, 2014
Modified Feb 5, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Feb 5, 2014
Modified Feb 5, 2014
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Though the rest of the city has become fairly accustomed to the remarkably cold-resistant Citi Bike program, the Plaza Hotel has not given up on its battle to send those unsightly racks far, far from its esteemed fringed awning. And now they're continuing to take the city to court over the rack—not, apparently, because of the sea of demonic blue it creates, but because all that bike noise is hurting poor little Eloise's ears.
The Post reports that the hotel-and-condo-building is arguing the bike rack should be removed, not just because it is an "eyesore," as previously expressed, but because of traffic and noise. City lawyer Nicholas Ciappetta told court officials these complaints were "red herrings," and that the Plaza really thinks they just don't look pretty. "It is clear that this proceeding is motivated instead purely by The Plaza hotel’s aesthetic concerns," he said in court last month. "In other words, The Plaza hotel does not want the station anywhere in its vicinity."
Last month, the DOT made it clear they weren't going to budge on the issue, a move Plaza attorney Steven Sladkus called "fishy." Sladkus did not respond to our request for comment and for now, the Plaza's war wages on, and in a statement Ciappetta tells us: "We are confident that the Court will uphold the siting of this bike share station as it has in prior challenges to the siting of other bike share stations. The bike share station at Grand Army Plaza is in an ideal location, and is one of the most popular stations in the network; there is no reason to relocate it."
Try not to sob audibly when you spot that hideous rack of Transports for Poors on your way to tea at the Palm Court.
Tagged
citi bike
midtown
nimby
Plaza Hotel
Rebecca Fishbein
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