Community Board Two set May 2 for the public hearing on Bike Share and allocated a small room in NYU holding around 60 people. After receiving over 150 phone calls, 70% opposed, Board Chair David Gruber decided to move the hearing to the more capacious quarters at PS 41, where up to 400 people could be seated. In fact, almost 500 had crowded in, standing room only. It appeared that most were opposed to the parking stations in the Village.
“Not in this historic block,” protested Katie Hilyard, a resident of a Barrow Street Co-op. “Move it somewhere else.” Another added to sustained applause, “They have built a barricade in the most heavy-handed way possible.” Objections centered on perceived inaccessibility to fire engines, police cars, ambulances, and access-a-ride. Although, Libby Mann of Bedford Street rationally pointed out that all these emergency services are already blocked by parked cars. “I don’t care what they do in Paris; I live in New York,” said one woman. “Citibank is making money on this.” (More cheering) Like many of those opposed, The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) stated in an April 29 letter to Mayor Bloomberg that “GVSHP is generally very supportive of making our streets friendly and accessible to pedestrians and bicycles,” but that the racks should be subject to review and approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which would effectively delay, if not kill, implementation. Printed notes were left on our seats with condoms attached, stating, “We’ve been screwed by Citibank, DOT and Christine Quinn. Don’t let this happen to you.” left by someone who was obviously prepared for this meeting.
Janet Leff, a supporter of Bike Share said, “Let’s give it a chance. It’s going to be amazing,” followed by heckling and shouting. When Stu Waldman from 12 Bedford Street said, “Bike stations are preferable to trucks and cars in our historic district,” Chair David Gruber started to argue with him and then apparently thought better of it. Charles Komanoff, a past president of Transportation Alternatives, scoffed at the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) who ignored the fact that parked cars, which lack any historic character, block the sidewalks 24/7. Komanoff told me, “I would probably use Bike Share to go to concerts, movies and meetings to avoid the risk and hassle of locking up.”
Thus there will be eight non-polluting, non-killing, quiet bicycles replacing each car. Not a bad trade.
Citywide, there are an estimated 1.5 million privately owned automobiles occupying public street space at no cost. If these were charged a nominal $100/month (less than a 1/3 the cost at Pier 40) the city could be earning $1.8 billion/year.
Bike Share encourages a modern, comfortable, and non-polluting form of urban travel. The bikes are attractive and relatively inexpensive, especially compared to private automobiles and taxis. They are successful in other cities and probably will be here too. They do deserve a chance.
