Comments on: Council Members Revive Bikes in Buildings Bill

By: briand derdiarian

briand derdiarian — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:18:15 +0000

Ha! Just today I bumped elbows with my superiors over this! I work at the MoMA Bookstore with several other cyclists.One of them had brought in a bare frame that he was selling to another. At the sight of the frame the manager explained that it was going to have to be locked up outside!! I bring in my front wheel everyday, but no… not a frame! Needless to say they make the usual false claims about liability and fire hazards. I can’t wait for this bill to pass and I won’t feel second class just because i choose a cleaner and healthier form of transit.

By: rex

rex — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:23:33 +0000

I would suggest in cases where something about a building that would make impractical to bring bike inside, building owners should be able buy offsets. In other words rent space in nearby indoor parking facilities if their building is unsuited to bringing bikes indoors.

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:41:53 +0000

My suggestion — buy REBNY off by allowing property owners to charge $20 per month for indoor bike parking. Thanks to the federal tax credit deal, the net cost to the rider would be zero.

At 30 square feet per bike for the space and circulation, that would be $8 psf per year. Not much when office space goes for over $70, but it might look good for the lease usable space in the building a year or two from now.

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:21:26 +0000

You know, I was just out in San Francisco where I was in so many buildings that bikes were allowed inside. It was second nature, bikes near people’s desks, in the elevator, people bringing them in stores, a part of the daily grind – no one seemed to mind. Really, what is the big deal?

Once this passes, it is gonna be just like one of those things that people 10 years from now will be saying, “Why were we so against this?” There are so many things the Bloomberg administration has done (cigarette taxes and laws, new public space initiatives, school reforms) that generate so much up-front battling and then afterwards the world is fine and no one freaks out.