New York Commuters Take to Bikes With Nowhere to Park
Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- It costs Jamie Fisher about $25 for parking, $8 for tolls and another $8 for gasoline on days that he drives from his home in Bergen County, New Jersey, to his job in midtown Manhattan.
When he bicycles the 50-mile (80-kilometer) round trip, the only cost is convenience. Once Fisher reaches his office at Fifth Avenue and 56th Street, he can’t bring his $8,000 bike into the building.
“The first 25 miles aren’t a problem -- it’s the last 150 feet,” said Fisher, 41, vice president of energy and derivatives for MF Global Ltd., the world’s largest broker of exchange-traded futures contracts. “No matter where you bike from, once you’re in the city, finding a safe place to put your bike is impossible.”
Rising transportation costs and more bike paths have boosted bicycle commuting in New York by 35 percent in the past year, according to the city’s Department of Transportation. That’s making it even more difficult for bike users to find a safe place to stow their vehicles.
“Mass transit is overcrowded, and with fares going up, more people would bike to work if they knew their bike was safe,” said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, a New York advocacy group.
Concern that their bike will be stolen or vandalized is the top reason that cyclists don’t ride to work, according to a 2007 study conducted by the Department of City Planning. As many as 70,000 bikes are stolen each year in New York, according to Transportation Alternatives.
Solution by Law
To deal with the problem and encourage commuter cycling, David Yassky, a city councilman from Brooklyn, has introduced a bill that would require all commercial buildings to allow employees to enter with their bicycles.
Yassky expects the bicycle access bill to be endorsed by 30 of the council’s 51 members, said Jake Maguire, an aide to the councilman. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8. The council may vote on the measure at a later date, after any amendments are made.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the proposal as a step to help reduce traffic congestion, and is working with Yassky on its details, said Stu Loeser, a spokesman for the administration. The mayor is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.
Indoor parking for bicycles would trigger a wave of commuter cyclists eager to avoid higher subway and bus fares, Maguire said. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is proposing to raise fares and tolls as much as 23 percent. A monthly subway pass now costs $81.
Gasoline, Subway Savings
“Increasing bike ridership would fundamentally cut into the problem of higher gasoline prices and higher subway fares,” Maguire said. “There needs to be a policy developed that allows bikes in the building.”
Blackstone Group LP, owner of the building where Fisher works at 717 Fifth Ave., declined to comment on its bike access policy, said John Ford, a spokesman.
Building owners and operators represented by the Real Estate Board of New York oppose the compulsory aspect of Yassky’s plan, said Marolyn Davenport, senior vice president. While the board encourages members to provide space voluntarily, there is concern about the expense of giving bicycle access when real estate prices are dropping, she said.
Cost of Service
“It’s definitely costly to set up a bike room, and then there’s security, liability and the matter of lost rent,” Davenport said.
The situation is a complicated one that real estate owner and developer Durst Organization is studying, said Jordan Barowitz, a spokesman for the company. Spokesmen for Vornado Realty Trust, Boston Properties Inc. and Related Cos., which also own commercial real estate in the city and belong to the board, declined to comment on the bill.
Building access for bicycles is part of a larger effort in New York to increase commuter cycling to improve public health, reduce vehicle traffic and ease the strain on public transportation. The city says it has installed 140 miles of new bike paths since 2006.
An average of 131,000 people commuted daily by bicycle in New York City in 2007, said Transportation Alternatives’ Norvell. That represents about 0.5 percent of all weekday commuting, according to the city’s Department of Transportation.
In comparison, 40 percent of commuters in Amsterdam go by bicycle, 30 percent in Copenhagen, and 5 percent in Paris, Norvell said.
Credit Suisse Garage
Credit Suisse Group Inc. set up a bike room on the ground floor at 1 Madison Ave. four years ago at the request of some employees. About 35 bikes are stored each day for riders among the 10,000 workers there and next door at 11 Madison, said Bruce Corwin, a company spokesman.
“We don’t have to worry,” said Jonathan Danziger, 49, a Credit Suisse information technology specialist who had quit riding to work after his bike was repeatedly vandalized and then stolen. “This way, it’s completely safe.”
As for Fisher, he found a newsstand owner in a neighboring building who is willing to stash his $8,000 Vellum bicycle at no charge.
The alternative was locking it to a sign post.
To contact the reporter on this story: Leon Lazaroff in New York at llazaroff@bloomberg.net .
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