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Some Brooklyn NIMBYs Fear Citi Bike Will Bring Undesirables Who Don't Own Bikes
By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 30, 2016
Modified Jun 30, 2016
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 30, 2016
Modified Jun 30, 2016
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Some doomsday Brooklyn NIMBYs are on the warpath against Citi Bike and have been putting up these flyers around neighborhoods like Cobble Hill, which will soon be getting new bike share docking stations.
"Say NO To Citibikes Here," it reads, lumping the bike share program into a buffet of homeowner concerns ranging from the possibility of express F train service (not a definite, as the poster suggests), to the proliferation of high-rises. And, gasp, outsiders who do not own their own bicycles.
We weren't able to track down the fist-shakers behind the posters, which were spotted by Streetsblog, but Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman says he's gotten several complaints recently about this summer's Citi Bike expansion, ever since the DOT started notifying homeowners.
"Some people are now just learning about the program despite the fact that there's been really heavy media coverage for years," said Hammerman, who's very pro-Citi Bike. "We had an extremely robust public planning process that people didn't tune into until they were faced with a dock planned for their block."
The majority of complaints have been directed at planned stations on the corner of Carroll Street and 3rd Avenue in Gowanus, and Clinton Street and First Place in Carroll Gardens—a quiet brownstone block with wide, grassy front yards. In classic bike-skeptic fashion, locals are primarily concerned about the loss of parking spaces, Hammerman said.
A third of the 73 docking stations planned for CB6, he added, will be on the sidewalk rather than the street.
"Frankly, it's irresponsible to get people riled up using hyperbole," Hammerman added. "Also they can be ticketed for putting a sign up on a streetlight pole, which is illegal."
Tagged
citi bike
citibike
cobble hill
Gowanus
NIMBYs
Emma Whitford
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