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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MAY 5, 2019
CONEY
of Staten Island, according
to spokeswoman Alana Morales,
who added that offi -
cials plan to keep Coney Islanders
in the loop as they
continue on their quest to
make the Big Apple a more
bike-fi lled city.
“DOT is currently focused
on our request for
expressions of interest and
plans for a larger dockless
bike share pilot on Staten
Island, and have no immediate
plans for additional
pilots at this time,” Morales
said. “We look forward to
continuing our conversations
with the Coney Island
community as we explore
ways to expand bike share
options throughout the city
in the future.”
Transportation agency
offi cials fi rst announced the
pilot program in the People’s
Playground last May, but
then delayed the roll out until
the end of last year, after
locals charged that the plan
would bring chaos to Coney
by allowing riders to drop
the bikes wherever they
wanted and exacerbate the
problem of allegedly reckless
cyclists careening down
the crowded Riegelmann
Boardwalk.
Offi cials never brought
the bikes to Sodom by the
Sea — which does not have
any other bike share services
— but they did roll out
pilot programs in the distant
boroughs of Staten Island,
Queens, and the Bronx. And
the transportation agency
announced this month that
honchos are seeking proposals
to institute an expanded,
borough-wide dockless
bike share program to
likely launch this summer
in Staten Island following
last year’s trial.
Coney Island offi cials —
who last year sent a letter to
both the transportation commissioner
and the mayor
outlining their strong opposition
to the plan — rejoiced
at the news of the reversal.
The district manager of
the local Community Board
13 — whose members passed
a motion last summer rejecting
the plan — cheered city
offi cials for listening to the
concerns of his fellow board
members who raised their
voices in opposition to the
proposal.
“We told them no, so they
heard us loud and clear,”
said Eddie Mark.
The board’s chair was
similarly jubilant, and
claimed that the plan was illogical
from the start.
“Thank God,” said Joann
Weiss. “Canceling it out is
the right thing to do for the
welfare of the community,
because it would have only
been a hindrance and not
a help. Having these bikes
and being able to drop them
wherever you choose was
just a ridiculous situation.”
Reps from the transportation
agency never answered
this paper’s repeated inquiries
last year about where
the bikes would initially be
distributed, who would be
liable for injuries to riders,
and how the system would
limit riders bringing the
bikes on the Boardwalk,
taking them out of the neighborhood’s
boundaries, and
abandoning them in the
middle of the street.
Statistics show that having
more bikes in an area
leads to safer overall conditions
for cyclists, transportation
agency reps told this
newspaper last summer, citing
a 17 percent decrease in
cyclists killed or severely
injured in bike-rental zones
citywide after CitiBike
launched in 2013.
Breaking a sweat
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Continued from cover
NO GO: City offi cials have given up on a plan to bring 200 dockless
bikes to the People’s Playground. File photo by Steve Solomonson
Amaya Moscol enjoyed hula-hooping as part of the obstacle
course at the Coney Island YMCA’s Healthy Kids
Day on April 27, which offered free activities all day long
in an effort to get tykes moving.
Photo by Steve Solomonson