Photo by Charlie, who works at Lincoln Center and wrote ” Came out of work and saw a shiny new citibike station at Lincoln center!”
The first Citibike station on the Upper West Side was installed on Monday, as a long rack of bikes was placed next to Dante Park at 63rd street and Columbus Avenue.
Depending on how you look at it, the bikes are here either ahead of or behind schedule — ahead if you consider the fact that the Department of Transportation said they’d be here in the fall. Behind if you note that Citibike was really supposed to be here years ago.
Hey, glass half full, right?
Politicians plan to make an inaugural ride from the Upper East Side to the Upper West tomorrow; kind of like Washington crossing the Delaware, updated for the 21st century and maybe a little less heroic.
The remaining 20 stations below 86th street will be placed in the coming months — the DOT says it should take another three to four weeks to place them all. The stations above 86th should come early next year. Check out the full map of the stations here. And Community Board 7 has compiled a list of comments about the stations here (pdf).
Photo by Denton Taylor.
Thanks to Charlie and Denton for the tips.
I am glad that Citibike has made it to the UWS and hope that the service continues to expand. It is a great way to get around the city and avoid the subway.
I for one welcome our new blue-hued overlords.
There goes the neighborhood, sigh..
Because you’d rather breathe in exhaust fumes, listen to blaring car horns, and worry about getting run over when you cross the street? Yeah, I don’t like breathing clean air, having relative peace and quiet, or being able to walk safely, either.
Great news!
This is long overdue and quite awesome for the UWS.
This is truly a travesty – why are we allowing this to happen? WHere is the community action?
Do I need a constant reminder of Citigroup? THEY ARE CROOKS! How many New Yorkers lost their homes to these bastards? And we honor them?
Thankfully, I have found peace in the word of the Lord.
I’m very happy that the stand is right across the street from a hotel. Many tourists use bikes while in NYC.
I wish citi was not in the name or branding. Also wish it was a non profit org that gave back to the city in some way. Not quite sure where all the money goes. Glad people are enjoying it tho!
There are some big ass people of a certain age on the UWS who really should take advantage of this service.
Understand your point here Sean you’ve got a much better chance of being obese if you’re 12 rather than 50.
Hi Sean
Was curious about what was meant by “big ass people” and “of a certain age”?
Could you specify your intended references?
Thanks.
Sure. It means people 50+ who could shed a few instead of moaning about the loss of a Food Emporium.
How about showing a little respect for your elders, young man?
Clutch pearls much?
Sean – I’ll bite here….
I have quite a few relatives and friends who are 50+, including some who bike. But a fair number of them have had bad experiences with cyclists and thus they do not support Citibike or biking expansion in NYC. In fact our pediatrician was hospitalized and in rehab for weeks after being hit by a wrong way cyclist (not a delivery person) And I know of others who’ve been hit by cyclists in NYC.
Actually I think UWS cyclists have more to fear from the 25-40 age affluent demographic of folks who compulsively order stuff via Amazon, Google delivery, Instacart, etc, and thus generate increased truck traffic….
IMO the purposefully insulting reference (age & weight)of your comment suggests the American tendency of superficial “first world problems.” Given all the horrible things going on the world, it is astounding to think that it is acceptable to insult and condemn a whole group of people based on a perception of differing opinions about NYC’s bicycling infrastructure.
Get off your high horse and ride.
What a great answer! I was just going to call him a jerk and leave it at that, but you nailed him on the substance. Well said!
How bout in Washington heights.. We gave no bike lanes, nothing…
Could be many reasons – perhaps the people of the Heights don’t vote or get involved in any city governance? Perhaps biking is not a major concern or need for the community?
It’s because the expansion has not arrived there yet. To be fair a lot of folks ride bikes in Washington Heights and mostly for transportation. More so than in many other neighborhoods.
I don’t follow this issue much but unless someone is actually counting the numbers of people commuting via bike on bike paths and not on bike paths (which would seem hard to do so as there are many routes) it is hard to determine whether a bike lane in a particular area is warranted. And to my point about political involvement by the people of the Heights… seems like if there is a desire for bike lanes in that stretch either the voices aren’t being heard or it isn’t a pressing matter for those in the community. I’m sure there are more important things on the minds of the residents..educational needs for their children…healthcare accessibility…
I can’t believe that areas already lacking in parking due to legitimate reasons (firehouse, police station) and less reasonable ones (churches?!?) are losing what few spots they have to bikes that are not going to get used. I guess it’s easy to see why this is happening since the list of comments does not include all comments submitted to the CB. They are really doing a bang up job. Thanks and good luck with this idiotic plan.
Oh, boo hoo! You might lose your FREE parking spot!? Who even has a car in this city?
Those with a disabled family member.
you can buy a parking spot. If you can afford to live below the 90s on the UWS, have a flexible enough work schedule that you can spend 2 hours/week moving your car side to side and you own a car/pay NYC insurance rates then you should be able to buy a spot to park it.
“bikes that are not going to get used”
Open your eyes, Mary. The bike lanes are very much being used (albeit mostly by people going the wrong way!)
#oops
Yep. I don’t even ride a bike, and have no strong feelings either way about Citibike in general, but one thing you really can’t say is that the bikes “are not going to get used.” All over the city you see people riding Citibikes, and more often than not, when you walk past a docking station, almost all of the bikes are gone. When my brother stayed with me a few months ago while attending a conference in midtown, he remarked that he would’ve loved to commute via Citibike, but couldn’t because there weren’t any stations on the UWS. I think the bikes will definitely be put to good use!
This is great for people that live in the nabe, like me. The closest stations before were in front of the Trump Hotel and on 10th Avenue
Memo to all those Preening and Prancing Populists who are shocked…shocked!…to see the word they despise, “CITI”, (GASP! a bank!! Quel Horreur!!) on the shared bikes:
Shield Thine Eyes as Thou Passest, as do those who still cannot stand the sight of the twin high-rises on Upper Broadway. You can simply hold one hand over your brow, or, more effectively, hold your New York Times up to block the view…quite appropriate, as the Times frequently blocks our views of certain realities that affront Librul Preconceptions.
Or, wear blinders, just like the Carriage Horthies about whom you protesteth so loudly.
Oh, sorry…you already ARE wearing blinders, aren’t ya?
Would you deny that the major banking institutions have routinely and with impunity engaged in actions and behaviors that, at a very minimum, could only be considered unethical?
If you would not deny this, would you also concede that said unethical behaviors and actions were responsible for bringing considerable suffering to any number of people?
Would you deny that the aforementioned entities have engaged in behavior that, in at least some cases, was unquestionably illegal?
Would you deny that the financial meltdown of 2008 as well as any number of other financial catastrophes were caused, at least in large part, by reckless, greed-driven behavior on the part of the major financial institutions?
Would you deny that such financial catastrophes have wreaked havoc upon the lives of countless people?
If you would concede that the major banking and financial institutions are indeed guilty of serious crimes– whether moral, legal or both– do you have some reason to consider CitiBank an exception?
Please elaborate.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~
Protesteth?
The famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet that you presumably were alluding to is,
“The lady doth protest [emphasis mine-Ind.] too much, methinks”
(Hamlet, Act III: Scene II)
Is protesteth even a word?
Judging by any number of your posts that I’ve seen here, you certainly would not appear to be one who is shy or hesitant when it comes to correcting the likes of grammatical and spelling errors made by others. As such, I am sure that you will only welcome being placed on the receiving end of such corrections yourself.
Very dangerous street, one will have to back bike into traffic lane to undock it. 63rd street is an extremely busy street. Cars moving at 30 mph plus to make the green light there. The city should put a couple speed bumps on that short block
You’re backing up a bike about 12 to 14 inches from the locking station not a Uhaul with limited visibility.
We’ve had these bikes in London for quite a long time now. Glad you’ve got them.
I hope people were a lot less complaining than people in New York City! Never thought people would make such a ridiculous fuss over them. Lived here on the upper west side most of my life and used to ride my bike all over the city. I plan on taking it up again. Never have there been such an uproar over them! Glad to see some cities may well be civil in this matter.
I don’t see the big deal — there is already a dock a couple blocks away on 61st…. And, 63rd is not a street where cars rush through at 30 miles an hour – its almost impossible to do so because so many cabs stop in front of the hotel..
61st the bikes are on the sidewalk and I live on 63rd and yes they speed down this block sometimes faster then 30.
I overlook Broadway and 63rd and my view all day is literally the park and the new citi bike dock. Cars do speed down 63rd between CPW and Bdway hoping to catch the light, but they all get stuck when the hit the hotel and slow down. In any event, Ive already seen plenty of use at the citi bike dock, and am 100% positive that the UWS docks will get a ton of use.
: )
I hope folks come to realize, arguably, the best reason to have these Citibikes: there’s now a low cost and fast alternative to subways, buses and cabs. By and large, you don’t have to stand on a packed, sweltering subway platform waiting 9 minutes for a train anymore. (You can double that figure on weekends.)
2 other reasons — They create no pollution; they unburden the transit system.
Not quite true. They have to use trucks to redistribute the bikes around the city, since the usage patterns lead to too many bikes at some stations and not enough at others at certain times of the day.
Actually, in addition to some trucks, they also use tow-bikes to move other bikes from dock to dock in the rebalancing efforts.
In addition, it’s a lot less expensive than the subway, often faster, is healthier, and I feel energized when I get to my destination!
Very exciting. Thanks for the update. This really is the best way to get around.
Now all we need is a north-bound protected bike lane on Amsterdam, which really should have been in place before the Citibikes arrive.
QFT
“Now all we need is a north-bound protected bike lane on Amsterdam”
In my experience, Quantum Field Theory takes in a bit more than that….
no, it actually doesn’t.
yes and no
Ride like the wind.
Sean wrote,
More like casting pearls…
(Now watch as I’ll be attacked for being nasty, the nasty comment I was REPLYING-TO completely ignored.)
Your old road is rapidly aging. You’d better get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand for the times they are a’changing. (Bob Dylan)
CitiBike stand is ready for use at 67th Street, West of Broadway, where Apple is.