COMMUNITY news Sandy’s surge delays bike share yet again PHOTO BY MICHAEL PANTELIDIS The previously delayed Citi Bike program BY ALEXA ALTMAN the program to 10,000 eventually, but do not pres- will now roll out in Brooklyn and Manhat- ently have a timeline on when that will occur. tan in May of 2013. The city’s previously stalled bike share program is When implemented, the DOT said, 5,500 bikes will again slamming on the brakes after Sandy. be available at 293 stations in Manhattan and Brook- The New York City Department of Transportation lyn. Long Island City — initially slated to receive (DOT) and New York City Bike Share (NYCBS) an- bikes in the fi rst phase of the program — will not be nounced that its hotly anticipated Citi Bike will be included in the May 2013 debut. Western Queens cy- postponed for a second time to May of 2013 be- clists can expect to see the shiny cobalt cruisers on cause of damage from the storm. their blocks sometime towards the end of 2013. Sandy’s surge fl ooded NYCBS’s facility located at Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, who has long cluding bike frames and hardware, several integral neighborhood to increase its ability to be sustain- www.queenscourier.comsupported the bike share program, said the delay isa major disappointment. Regardless of Long IslandCity’s exclusion from phase one, the councilmembersaid he would continue to advocate for the activeis doing its best to get the nation’s largest bike“DOT has worked around the clock to restore vi- the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which sits along the East River and housed roughly two-thirds of the system’s equipment. According to the DOT, while portions of the equipment were not signifi cantly damaged, in- electrical components require repair or replace- able and environmentally friendly. ment. “I understand the Department of Transportation tal transportation links following the storm and that share program up and running but leaving Western spite the damage, New York will have the nation’s tion options,” said Van Bramer. • january 2013 •Queens out of the mix does not seem logical whenso many residents here rely on alternate transporta-mier locations in LIC, including waterfront parks, theThe initiative was originally supposed to unveil includes putting Citi Bike on the road to recovery,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. “De- largest bike share system up and running this Initially, 10 docking stations were expected to be spring.” placed strategically to provide riders access to pre- 7,000 bicycles in March of 2013 after being delayed business district and LaGuardia Community College. lic said they intend to increase the number of bikes in lion price tag, funded privately by Citi. courier 11The delay will not impact the program’s $41 mil- from the fall because of faulty equipment. The DOT
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