6 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 February 28–March 5, 2020
Battery-powered Citi Bikes return
One of the e-bikes at a docking station in Dumbo.
Serial burglar hits
brownstone Bklyn
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By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
The city’s largest purveyor
of bank-sponsored rental bikes
is now offering battery-powered
bicycles — for the second
time — after first pulling
the juiced-up bikes, which
had a penchant for sending
riders flying over the handlebars
and bursting into flames,
last spring.
Lyft, a rider share company
that owns Citi Bike,
rolled out a “few hundred”
pedal-assist bicycles on Feb.
19, in a move that city transportation
officials hailed as a
positive step towards encouraging
more New Yorkers to
embrace cycling.
“We are confident that the
return of these sought-after
bikes will allow our partners
at Lyft to build on the recordbreaking
ridership Citi Bike
saw last summer — and will
help even more people discover
the joy and convenience
of cycling in New York City,”
said DOT Commissioner Polly
Trottenberg.
The company first introduced
the electric-powered
bikes capable of reaching
speeds of up to 18 miles per
hour in August 2018, but removed
them last April after
some riders claimed they went
soaring over the handlebars in
an attempt to break. One social
media user reported fracturing
his arm while trying to
stop short on one of Citi Bike’s
pedal-assisted rentals.
And if that wasn’t bad
enough, the electric bikes
had a slight tendency to
burst into flame, as demonstrated
when some Citi Bikemounted
batteries burst into
flame at a charging station
in Gowanus. Those defects
were mirrored by rental bikes
Lyft operated in California’s
Bay Area in July, which also
caught fire, leading the company
to pull their West Coast
E-bikes as well.
Lyft has since changed their
supplier of batteries and now
mounts their batteries closer
to the rear of the bike.
They were supposed to
bring the e-bikes back last
fall, but were delayed because
they wanted to ensure the new
bikes were safe, according to
a company statement.
The company in July announced
Accepting K-12 applications
through April 1, 2020
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a $100 million investment
to triple the number of the
blue bikes in the city, including
an expansion into Brownsville,
Crown Heights, Prospect
Lefferts Gardens, East
Flatbush, Windsor Terrace,
Ditmas Park, Kensington,
and Sunset Park, along with
installing additional docks
in Park Slope and Bedford-
Stuyvesant.
The company introduced
a new pricing model in January,
which changes the surcharge
for the e-bikes from a
flat $2 to a per minute price,
with 10 cents per minute for
annual members, 5 cents for
members of the company’s reduced
fare program for public
housing residents and food
stamps recipients, and 15 cents
for non-members.
E-bike surcharges are
capped at $2 for members riding
45 minutes or less when
their journeys start or finish
outside Manhattan.
The batteries last for about
30 miles and workers swap
them out whenever they’re out
DO YOU HAVE LEG PAIN, LEG
CRAMPING, OR NON-HEALING
FOOT WOUNDS?
of charge, much like Revel’s
scooter rental service.
In Dumbo, where some
of the first e-bikes were stationed,
some Brooklynites said
they’ll still use the “classic”
Citi Bikes for the lower price
and the workout.
“I still feel like, for the
price difference, I’d rather just
take the exercise and save the
money,” said John Aner. “I
tried them four or five times
the last time around and they
really didn’t do much for me
Photo by Meg Capone
and they still don’t.”
The owner of a local bike
shop celebrated the new battery
powered two-wheelers,
saying the Citi Bike service
in general has done a great
job encouraging new riders,
who often choose to purchase
their own bike in lieu of relying
on the rentals.
“As a bike shop owner, I
use Citi Bike and love them,”
said Ilya Nikhamin, the owner
of Red Beard Bikes. “They’re
fun!”
By Ben Verde
Brooklyn Paper
Police are the hunt for the
prolific prowler responsible
for nabbing $67,300 worth of
loot amid six break-ins across
brownstone Brooklyn.
The burglar’s first suspected
heist occurred in
Park Slope on Dec. 3, when
he broke the lock of a Seventh
Avenue apartment near
Lincoln Place at around 3:30
pm, before making off with a
treasure trove of jewelry totaling
$52,000.
Two weeks later, the villain
snagged $3,000 worth
of goods from another Park
Slope apartment on Fifth
Avenue near Bergen Street
at around 3 pm on Dec. 19,
cops said.
The pilferer struck another
Park Slope apartment on Jan.
8, when he attempted to break
the lock of a Park Place residence
near Flatbush Avenue
at around 8:45 am, before ultimately
giving up and running
off empty handed.
But the scoundrel remained
undeterred by his failed attempt
and struck again two
days later, breaking the lock of
the door of a President Street
apartment near Fifth Avenue
at 12:10 pm and swiping a television,
jewelry, and $300,
cops said.
On Jan. 21, the pirate broke
into a Carroll Gardens apartment
near Smith and Douglas
streets at 2:05 pm and lifted
$2,000 worth of electronics,
according to police.
The serial thief’s most recently
documented raid came
on Jan. 27, when he broke into
a residence near Seventh Avenue
and Seventh Street and
made off with $10,000 worth
of jewelry.
No arrests have yet been
made, and the investigation
remains ongoing.
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