Elected Officials, Advocates, Business Leaders & Riders Rally for Five-Borough Citi Bike at City Hall
27 Council Members Sign Letter Calling on City to Take Action While #CitiBike4All Campaign Amasses Over 5,000 Signatures in Just a Few Weeks
Elected officials, community leaders, business leaders and riders gathered at City Hall on Wednesday to rally for a five-borough Citi Bike. Motivate, the company that operates Citi Bike, has offered to expand bike share to all five boroughs, bringing another 6,000 bikes further into Queens and Brooklyn and into Staten Island and the Bronx for the first time- all at no cost to New York City taxpayers. Advocates pushed for the city to accept the deal.
"This is too good a deal to pass up," said City Councilmember and Chair of the Transportation Committee Ydanis Rodriguez. "Improving our city's bus and subway networks will take time and money; Citi Bike is a quick, easy way to ensure that every New York resident can get around the city easily and affordably. The Citi Bike system is safe, it is affordable, it encourages healthy living, it opens up commercial and residential corridors, and at no additional cost to taxpayers, it should be allowed to expand to all five boroughs immediately."
#CitiBike4all, a campaign led by Transportation Alternatives, one of the city's lead pedestrian and bike advocacy organizations, has also amassed over 5,000 signatures to that effect in under a month.
The coalition is growing and reflects widespread public opinion: according to a Penn Schoen Berland and Transportation Alternatives poll in November 2016, 71% of likely New York City voters support Citi Bike expansion into all five boroughs. The Mayor previously expressed his support for a five-borough Citi Bike.
"Every New Yorker deserves access to bike share because it is a cheap, flexible addition to the existing public transportation network," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives. "Along with our partners in the #CitiBike4All coalition, we call for an equitable expansion of Citi Bike to all five boroughs so that neighborhoods in The Bronx, Eastern Queens, Staten Island and South Brooklyn can realize the health and neighborhood mobility benefits of bike share."
Citi Bike launched in May 2013 with 6,000 bikes at 332 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. By the end of 2017, the system will have doubled in size, with 12,000 bikes at 700 stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
With over 126,000 members and over 60,000 trips per day in peak season, Citi Bike has become an integral part of New York City's transportation network. Expansion to all five boroughs is necessary to ensure it can be an even more effective and equitable mode choice.
Respectfully,
Ydanis Rodriguez
Chair, Transportation Committee
Council Member, District 10
Brad Lander, Council Member, District 39
Paul Vallone Council Member, District 19
Mark Levine
Council Member, District 7
Rafael Salamanca
Council Member, District 17 Carlos Menchaca
Council Member, District 38
Andy Cohen
Council Member, District 11
Corey Johnson
Council Member, District 3
Karen Koslowitz
Council Member, District 29
Antonio Reynoso
Council Member, District 34
Donovan Richards
Council Member, District 31
Robert Cornegy
Council Member, District 36
Elizabeth Crowley
Council Member, District 30
Ritchie Torres
Council Member, District 15
Fernando Cabrera
Council Member, District 14
Jimmy Van Bramer
Council Member, District 26
Vincent Gentile
Council Member, District 43
Jumaane Williams
Council Member, District 45
Bill Perkins
Council Member, District 9
Stephen Levin
Council Member, District 33
Daniel Dromm
Council Member, District 25
Helen Rosenthal
Council Member, District 6 Deborah Rose
Council Member, District 49
Margaret Chin
Council Member, District 1
Costa Constantinides
Council Member, District 30
Chaim Deutsch
Council Member, District 48
Vanessa Gibson
Council Member, District 16.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The comments from those who are in favor and may have a special interest other than Mr. Steely-White's comment have been omitted. Most of the council members listed above in favor are term-limited after this election, and they will be LAME DUCK council members. They will have to find other jobs when their next term in office is up if they are re-elected.
