Comments on: Now the MTA is Stealing Bikes in Williamsburg

By: am journalist will write

am journalist will write — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:26:58 +0000

Hello all:

I'm currently writing a story on this situation with the MTA.

Please email journalist6@gmail.com if:

a) you have (or believe you have) had the MTA confiscate your bike, or

b) you have seen the MTA confiscating bikes.

Thanks.

By: Angus Grieve-Smith

Angus Grieve-Smith — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:45:52 +0000

I don't, Edward. You think the rich people don't own Florida too? I've been to Florida, it's worse.

By: Edward Chin

Edward Chin — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:38:28 +0000

See the rich people own NYC now.That's why I left to a more sompler life in Florida after 35 years of living in NYC.Besides since when did the MTA have any autority to seize personal property?Now if a individual on the street were caught sawing off a bike lock he/she would be a thief.So now this has nothing to do with bikes being chained up on city property.They are nothing but gangsters.Threatening you the civilian.your way of life...Fight back.Im sorry I gave up but I hate to see you folks give up so easily.It's not an eye sore .its more the characterisics that made NYC in the first place..If they don't like it they should leave...Does anyone agree with me?

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:33:14 +0000

Yeah people. Move on. I mean, do you know how many times I have been walking on a trail in a forest and a tree branch snags on my sweater? I just cut the tree down and keep on moving.

By: Emily Litella

Emily Litella — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:48:39 +0000

Unbeleivable. 60 comments on this crap. Park the hell out of the pedestrian path. I've been poked in the ribs enough times by handlebars i wasnt expecting. The TA's response is highly appropriate. MOVE ON people.

By: bahs

bahs — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:12:26 +0000

called the 4501 number, got a person on phone, asked about a fictitious bike, and they seem efficient enough at dealing:
when was was the bike clipped,
where,
what color,
what make,
... ok let me check.

By: greenpoint

greenpoint — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:16:08 +0000

First, thanks, guy, for the public service video. Much appreciated.

Second, after hours of run around, I've been told: the MTA takes bikes to the Lost Property Unit at 42nd and 8th - which is apparently IN the subway station area.

The numbers to call (which are always busy) are:
212.712.4500
and
212.712.4501

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:43:36 +0000

Hey, I'm no fan of cars, and I'm all for getting rid of them, but until that time,I'd like to be able to use the one form of transportation that's always available to me: walking. And having bikes parked on the railings makes that damned difficult to do.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:35:54 +0000

I suggest that the MTA rents the space underneath the BQE on the south side of Met Ave and turns it into 23-hour daily bike parking. It's only a short block away from the Met/Lorimer L/G stop, one stop east of Bedford Ave. If they removed all bikes parked there between three and four a.m. it would keep people (like the used-bike sellers) from using the racks as free warehouse space. Or charge people $1.50 a day like they do in the Netherlands.

By: Tom E.

Tom E. — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:19:51 +0000

Narrow sidewalks? Anyone who complains about bikes is SERIOUSLY overlooking how much space the cars take up - in the road, and on both sides of the road.

Pedestrians who get angry at bikes and bikers are directing their anger towards the wrong people, and the wrong form of transportation. Cars kill.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:59:40 +0000

Could locked bicycle storage be created by permanently parking a truck next to the station?

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:35:10 +0000

Amen to the comments about how inconsiderate it is to lock one's bike to the subway railing on those corners. You've got a massive amount of people trying to get up and down those stairs and then they're met with a spaghetti-like tangle of bikes in their way.

And yes... what can be done about the guys who sell bikes on the weekends and then permanently take up the spaces???? if they want to sell bikes, fine. But put them back in their truck and bring them back to their garage so that bike commuters can find a space !!

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:34:15 +0000

Nobody wants the bikes to be a safety hazard, or for them to be damaged during the day. I'd also guess that few bike owners want to lock their bikes to the subway entrance. The problem is the MTA can't seem to make 2+2 equal 4. They don't seem to understand that the bikes are outside the station because of growing customer demand. By this seizure the MTA is in effect saying, "Hey, why are these bikes on our property? How dare they sully our subway entrance! We better get rid of them." Instead of being reflexively hostile, what they should be saying is "Are these bikes from our riders? There must be a high demand for bike parking from our customers. Let's see if we can work out a solution and provide them with better service."

By: josher

josher — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:05:50 +0000

after having to step over broken bikes hanging into sidewalk for several days I'm happy to see they cut those suckers off the railing.

in my perspective the mta is just keeping the sidewalks safe, and the real problem is the freakin' vultures who keep stealing parts off the bikes around the area, and jumping on rims and frames, ruining the bikes so they end up abandoned.

I came back to my back one evening and found someone had let the air out of the tires, probably trying to get me to leave it there overnight so they could raid the thing for parts.

By: Mike K.

Mike K. — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:55:10 +0000

If anyone is interested, here's the law that the city cites when trying to justify the seizure of bicycles: http://www.5bbc.org/bicycletter/200509/16-122b.html

As stupid as it is to park your bike on a stair case railing, it's debatable whether or not these bikes are actually parked illegally.

By: glennQ

glennQ — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:30:42 +0000

I was thinking the same thing Chaka (post 48)! Where they auctioning the bikes?

By: mfs

mfs — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:27:34 +0000

In the recent past, there has been a pretty clear sign that says no locking your bike to the subway entrances. I don't know if it's there now. Some times people go overboard on putting no bike parking signs up (like on the fences around trees), but it's pretty clear that you shouldn't park your bike on the subway entrance walls especially where the sidewalk is so narrow.

We really need triple the amount of bike parking there- I end up having to lock to a parking meter a block or two away when I bike to the Bedford stop. The city also needs to do something about the bike sellers that are hogging the spots on the racks.

By: Chaka

Chaka — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 02:49:15 +0000

Wow!
Anyone know where the MTA is gonna hold it's BIKE SALE?... and when? I'm kinda looking for a fancy high-tech cruising machine.......

By: pt

pt — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:38:38 +0000

Yesterday or the day before, one of the handlebars of a bike chained near the top of the stairs there slipped through so the handlebar was sticking well into the subway stairwell - this was during evening rush hour. It was a pretty bad safety hazard (narrow stairwell crowded with people and something blocking a normally unobstructed area) and it wouldn't surprise me if that prompted the action today - either because of citizen's complaints or because the MTA doesn't want to get sued for millions in a personal injury lawsuit. I'm sorry people had their bikes taken, but even ignoring the safety issue, that is a pretty inconsiderate place to put your bike. The sidewalk there is narrow to begin with, and when it's crowded, you've just made hundreds of people have to deal with your single bike. There are plenty of places to lock your bike a block or two away. You aren't entitled to a bike parking place within 10 feet of your subway stop.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:35:30 +0000

For the longest time I wondered whether the Kellogg's Diner building on the corner of Met and Union could be topped off with two stories of bike parking. Maybe paid lockers on the second floor and free open-air sheds on the third floor/roof. Or could one maybe build a bike-parking structure underneath the BQE where it crosses Metropolitan Ave? It would be one stop further east than Bedford Ave, but there is nothing under the highway right now, and a bike parking lot wouldn't require too much headroom.