Comments on: City Building Opens New Indoor Bike Parking Facility

By: Management

Management — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:42:21 +0000

Guess we fired the wrong person.

By: jack

jack — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:25:11 +0000

ha ha ha!!! nice try! wrong jack and wrong floor! i've tried contacting management but they are so elusive that it's like they don't exist. they obviously own and run things from a distance like most big-shot commercial landlords. they have managers that do their work and they are elusive as well. then you have security who don't know much of what's going on and then you have the union guys who do the grunt work in the building and they're in their own world protected by their corrupt union. no one cares. really, no one cares. most people who work in this building are bloated businessmen who talk about fantasy league sports and dumb tv shows. they're mostly clueless to the subculture of people who ride bikes to work and want to reduce congestion, blah blah blah...

By: Christopher

Christopher — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:35:16 +0000

Jack -

I understand your frustration, but have you actually asked building management to convert the space to bike parking? You may well have and I have no idea what the landlord is like, so I apologize if this is a sore subject. I firmly believe that in life, if you don't ask, you won't get. Try submitting a polite request showing them how much it will benefit not just the tenants but also the landlords themselves (they can add "environmentally friendly" to their marketing materials, etc.). I believe that TA has a program to help out with this.

On the other hand...

When I worked for NYC2012 we were housed in a building that Dan Doctoroff was a part-owner of. One of the senior employees wanted to commute to work on his bicycle. After much arm-twisting, the only way he was allowed to do so was if he dismantled the bicycle and put it in a large bag before entering the freight elevator. Ever since then I have been amused every time Doctoroff has been held up as the ally of the bike commuter. Maybe has has seen the light?

By: anonymous

anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:47:20 +0000

Drivers can, however, leave things in the trunk of their car, even when they leave the car parked, something cyclists can't really do. Why are the drivers getting special treatment?

Bikes and cars aren't the same. They don't need or deserve *identical* treatment and rights etc. They do deserve equivalent rights, and an equal level of respect from the powers that be.

By: Management

Management — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:08:37 +0000

Jack Wilson who works on the 14th floor of 622 Third Avenue, this is your HR department. We read Streetsblog to it's time for you to find a new job.

By: jack

jack — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:04:34 +0000

i would so love a bike-room in my office building. this is a huge building and i know for a fact that they have some empty space in the building but these wealthy building owners live in a totally different world from mine and probably have no concept or interest in knowing about bicycling and commuting and all of that jazz. i work at 622 third ave.

By: ddartley

ddartley — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:36:50 +0000

d-
you're right, but hey, cyclists deserve better treatment than motorists, don't they?!

By: d

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:25:41 +0000

Drivers can't very well leave supplies (a canister of gas, a spare tire, etc.) in public parking spaces or in city garages, so it seems only fair that cyclists should take their locks with them when they leave.

By: psycholist

psycholist — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:20:29 +0000

I'd gladly carry a lock if my building offered bike parking! I have to carry it on my regular trips anyway, what's the big deal?

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:10:07 +0000

I tried, honestly I tried.

I'll go see building management tomorrow and tell them to take whatever steps necessary.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:49:31 +0000

Sean, do us all a favor and remove that cable with the crappy corroded lock. It's this kind of behavior that gives the general public the idea that cyclists won't behave responsibly and it also gives reason for people to oppose more bike racks going up in their neighborhoods. I see your point that a bunch of locks on a rack shows that it's getting use, but a corroded lock shows the same neglect that a picked-over rusted frame would.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:58:47 +0000

I'm with galvo. In fact, the failure to provide off-rack storage for bike locks leads to cluttered bike racks.

As for locks-as-eyesores, Steve, eyesoreness is all in the eye of the one with the sore, or something like that.

I see a rack with a bunch of locks hanging on it and I know that the rack is well-used by bike commuters. Only a full rack has quite so much soul-filling beauty.

By: galvo

galvo — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:20:13 +0000

a simple bar could be installed like a closet clothing bar and shelf system where they could store their locks,headgear and shoes.
this is like umbrella stands and overcoats, they don't ban wet umbrellas and big overcoats they give them a place to put them.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:56:57 +0000

Sean, I hate to say it but there are definitely people out there who would complain that the locks left as you describe are just as much eyesores as bikes left for long periods of time. That said, it is a huge hassle packing up and toting the locks and chains everywhere. a NYC velolib would sure solve a lot of problems . . .

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:15:43 +0000

Can't leave your lock?

One of the best ways to make a regular A->B->A commute easier is to leave a lock at B so that you don't have to carry it on both legs of every trip.

I've left a lock at every location I've commuted to and it's a real advantage.

I will confess that once or week or so I pass a lock and cable that I abandoned a few years ago. I would take them, but the crappy lock got corroded and I can't open it.