Comments on: Banned From Bringing Your Bike to Work? The Law’s on Your Side Now http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:07:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: cochon http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172741 cochon Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:38:07 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172741 regarding the loophole, i once had a newbie security guard punch me because i tried to take my bike to work, on a saturday even, with no-one in the building. he told me it was against the law to have bikes in any building(including residential) and that it was a violation of fire codes and that he could get fired if i took my bike up the stairwell that no-one used, like i had been doing for months before he started working there. i researched it and found that there are no violation of fire codes and that there was no illegality in taking a bicycle into a building. i insisted that the dude's boss reproduce these supposed laws, which he could not. i resumed taking my bike into the building and never had a problem again. the point is, people believe whatever they hear and are too lazy to find the truth. these winners assumed that what they heard was true, but it wasn't. you have to remember how afraid everyone is of litigation. this can be used to your advantage. telling someone that it is now against the law to disallow bicycles in buildings and possibly even reproducing a copy of the law for them to see, that they most likely won't take the time to read or even understand, may be enough to scare some folks into submission. regarding the loophole, i once had a newbie security guard punch me because i tried to take my bike to work, on a saturday even, with no-one in the building. he told me it was against the law to have bikes in any building(including residential) and that it was a violation of fire codes and that he could get fired if i took my bike up the stairwell that no-one used, like i had been doing for months before he started working there. i researched it and found that there are no violation of fire codes and that there was no illegality in taking a bicycle into a building. i insisted that the dude’s boss reproduce these supposed laws, which he could not. i resumed taking my bike into the building and never had a problem again.

the point is, people believe whatever they hear and are too lazy to find the truth. these winners assumed that what they heard was true, but it wasn’t. you have to remember how afraid everyone is of litigation. this can be used to your advantage. telling someone that it is now against the law to disallow bicycles in buildings and possibly even reproducing a copy of the law for them to see, that they most likely won’t take the time to read or even understand, may be enough to scare some folks into submission.

]]> By: Kaja http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172661 Kaja Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:50:24 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172661 er. "as a matter of spite in response to the Bikes-in-Buildings bill", rather. *sips coffee* Freight operators now taunt cyclists in the elevator on our way out at 4.30pm, asking me and the others "how we enjoy the No-Bikes-In-Buildings bill," followed by (in the case of one manager) a classic evil villain's laugh. Some of us are continuing to use the elevator on principle, but a lot of folks have just been scared off entirely, and either tie up on the street or have given up riding to work. This is the building management's desire, it's the opposite of the intention of the bill, and as a result I'm ready to call the bill an abject failure, at least as far as I can see. er. “as a matter of spite in response to the Bikes-in-Buildings bill”, rather. *sips coffee*

Freight operators now taunt cyclists in the elevator on our way out at 4.30pm, asking me and the others “how we enjoy the No-Bikes-In-Buildings bill,” followed by (in the case of one manager) a classic evil villain’s laugh.

Some of us are continuing to use the elevator on principle, but a lot of folks have just been scared off entirely, and either tie up on the street or have given up riding to work.

This is the building management’s desire, it’s the opposite of the intention of the bill, and as a result I’m ready to call the bill an abject failure, at least as far as I can see.

]]> By: Kaja http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172641 Kaja Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:42:44 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172641 The freight in my building closes at 4.45pm, which also makes this useless for me. Also: My building used to allow bikes period-end-of-story, but as a matter of spite in response to freight hours, has banned them outside of freight hours. I'm told this is true for all Jeffries Morris buildings in the city. Unintended consequences, people. This sort of thing shouldn't be solved by force. The freight in my building closes at 4.45pm, which also makes this useless for me. Also: My building used to allow bikes period-end-of-story, but as a matter of spite in response to freight hours, has banned them outside of freight hours. I’m told this is true for all Jeffries Morris buildings in the city.

Unintended consequences, people. This sort of thing shouldn’t be solved by force.

]]> By: Galfromdownunder Upover http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172631 Galfromdownunder Upover Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:41:02 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172631 Here's a fly-on-the-wall view of the initial hearing back in 2008 http://www.galfromdownunder.com/movies/bikesinbuildingsnyc If you make it to the end, you'll see me getting up and championing the folding bike flag (well, someone's gotta do it, might as well be me) Of course, it would be way better if I didn't work for folding bike company in saying this, but for those who are still getting hassled by building owners despite the new bill, you can always get a folder in the meantime, park it under your desk, and when those storage rooms open up, ditch it for your *real* bike. :o) I wrote about that after attending the AIA Fit City Conference and debating this with bicycle scholar John Pucher http://community.bikefriday.com/blog/johnpucher - there's a link to my personal rant on my blog about that Just for fun, here are the latest instalments on my ongoing tikit on trial experiment in NYC which started back in 2007: http://www.bikefriday.com/tikitontrial Hmmmmm this almost makes me want to go buy a full sized bike, a bamboo Calfee maybe, if I could get my leg over it being 5' nothing ... when I'm 94 ... Here’s a fly-on-the-wall view of the initial hearing back in 2008
http://www.galfromdownunder.com/movies/bikesinbuildingsnyc
If you make it to the end, you’ll see me getting up and championing the folding bike flag (well, someone’s gotta do it, might as well be me)
Of course, it would be way better if I didn’t work for folding bike company in saying this, but for those who are still getting hassled by building owners despite the new bill, you can always get a folder in the meantime, park it under your desk, and when those storage rooms open up, ditch it for your *real* bike. :o )
I wrote about that after attending the AIA Fit City Conference and debating this with bicycle scholar John Pucher
http://community.bikefriday.com/blog/johnpucher
- there’s a link to my personal rant on my blog about that
Just for fun, here are the latest instalments on my ongoing tikit on trial experiment in NYC which started back in 2007:
http://www.bikefriday.com/tikitontrial
Hmmmmm this almost makes me want to go buy a full sized bike, a bamboo Calfee maybe, if I could get my leg over it being 5′ nothing … when I’m 94 …

]]> By: Gwin http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172471 Gwin Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:05:26 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172471 Also, you have to take into consideration the operation hours of a building's freight elevator -- another huge loophole. The one in my building only operates until 6 PM, making it useless for me (unless I want to take 20 minutes out of my workday an hour before I normally leave). Also, you have to take into consideration the operation hours of a building’s freight elevator — another huge loophole. The one in my building only operates until 6 PM, making it useless for me (unless I want to take 20 minutes out of my workday an hour before I normally leave).

]]> By: AlanKHG http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172381 AlanKHG Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:33:21 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172381 Gross: Not a bad place to start, though. If there's extra space in your office & your boss/office manager is reasonable (and plenty of them are), you can bring your bike in, and that'll get momentum going for bike parking as an expected amenity for a good job. At the two places I've worked in the past two years, in both cases the company I was working for was fine with me bringing in my bicycle but the building management objected. Gross: Not a bad place to start, though. If there’s extra space in your office & your boss/office manager is reasonable (and plenty of them are), you can bring your bike in, and that’ll get momentum going for bike parking as an expected amenity for a good job.

At the two places I’ve worked in the past two years, in both cases the company I was working for was fine with me bringing in my bicycle but the building management objected.

]]> By: Gross http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/11/banned-from-bringing-your-bike-to-work-the-laws-on-your-side-now/comment-page-1/#comment-172161 Gross Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:36:13 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=110131#comment-172161 The building might be required by law to allow access, but your Employer is not required to allow bicycles in the work place. A loop hole so big you can ride your bike through it... The building might be required by law to allow access, but your Employer is not required to allow bicycles in the work place. A loop hole so big you can ride your bike through it…

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