Another week, another lawsuit (or several more, to be precise) for the nascent CitiBike program. West Village co-cop 99 Bank Street is the trailblazer on this front, but now at least nine other legal challenges related to the placement of bike racks are in the works, the Post reports. Meanwhile, Crain's says the official launch date is set for Memorial Day weekend.
Aggrieved residents who are suing to reclaim their sidewalks from ill-placed bike share racks include those at the Milan Condominium at 300 East 55th Street and at 150 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights. At a heated CB2 meeting on Friday, East Villagers and Soho denizens fired off several more zingers about the long-awaited project's flawed implementation. But hold up, people actually plan to use the much-maligned blue bikes?
Turns out the reaction isn't all negative. A truffle purveyor, a fundraiser at a nonprofit, Municipal Arts Society staffers, Hearst employees, and other people just like you all plan to use the system for either work, commuting, convenience, or fun, with some of the $95 annual memberships being covered by their companies. Other happy customers include real estate brokers, who expect the value of apartments near the bike share racks to rise. Even more unhappy customers? Street vendors forced to relocate because of the racks. Who knew a bike-sharing system would be so controversial? Then again, who'd they think they were dealing with... Portland?
· Rough ride for bike-share sites [NYP]
· Gearing up for Citi Bike [Crain's]
· Bike Share Takes Another Beating From Soho, Village Residents [Curbed]
· Bike share coverage [Curbed]
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