A couple of months ago, Transportation Nation of WNYC started cataloging and mapping all of the abandoned bikes throughout New York by asking readers to send in photos of rusty two-wheelers cluttering our sidewalks. Now, they've taken that idea one step further by partnering with the Department of Sanitation and Recycle-A-Bicycle to give these bike carcasses new life as art, naturally. More than 500 pictures were sent to WNYC, but only a few bikes and parts have been given the prestige of display. If you want to see these special few, they're in the windows of the Greene Space at 44 Charlton Street, but you could probably just walk down the block and spot a couple of the real deal.
Despite hundreds of broken bikes taking up space, they rarely get removed by the city. In fact, InhabitatNYC reports that only 40 were removed last year. The Department of Sanitation only removes the bikes when they are deemed "derelict," so they basically have to completely rust to a pile of useless garbage before they get taken away. For more mangled metal goodness, you can see all of the submitted photos here.
· The Abandoned Bike Project Showcases NYC's Neglected Bicycles as Art [InhabitatNYC]
· Abandoned Bike Street Exhibit [Greene Space]
· More than 430 Abandoned Bikes Plague NYC [Curbed]
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