Somebody don’t call the cops!
Community Board 6’s long-awaited showdown between lovers and haters of Citi Bike stations in Park Slope went off without a hitch on Oct. 20 — despite fears that a police presence might be necessary to keep order as a packed house of residents at loggerheads with each other over the controversial rental program acted like they that were attending an etiquette school class rather than wrestling match.
Their conduct stood in stark contrast to the outrageous behavior of several dozen locals who stormed a board meeting in September demanding that members answer for Citi Bike invading their neighborhood, according to the co-chairman of the board’s transportation committee.
“I think it shows that while people can disagree strongly about something, they can do so in a respectful way,” said Eric McClure who said the love-hate relationship with the parking-space eating, emission-free-transportation providing service was split about right down the middle. “Clearly people were coming because they were either a big fan of Citi Bike, or they had big concerns about Citi Bike.”
Critics initially attacked the city for not doing more to notify locals of the program’s rollout, especially technologically averse oldsters, according to one Carroll Gardens resident.
“I’m a little disappointed, number one, that we really didn’t have notification,” said Colleen Ginnta, the evening’s debut speaker. “A lot of people in the neighborhood are old-school you can forget about them opening up computers and talking back and forth in e-mails… that’s not going to happen.”
Others admitted they weren’t aware of the planning process that lead to Citi Bike’s rollout, but were impressed with the program, as one Carrol Gardens resident put it.
“I wasn’t aware of all the stuff that went on with the planning, but from my perspective it seemed pretty seamless,” said Chris Toth. “The coverage was great.”
Drivers viewed Citi Bike less as an amenity, and more as a weapon the city wielded against them, as one Park Sloper explained.
“It seems like it was done at the expense of a segment of the society,” said Robert Krakovski. “It feels like it was a deliberate slap in the face.”
And park lovers weren’t in love with the bike rental program, claiming docking stations installed around Prospect Park are eyesores installed without proper review, according to one speaker.
“These installations are not appropriate,” Jeremy Woodoff. “The park is not to be viewed as open space available for filling up with whatever structure or facility seems needed at the moment.”
The community board is in the process of distilling the speakers’ testimonies, along with more than 800 pieces of correspondence it has received regarding Citi Bike from locals, into a written report that will be sent to the Department of Transportation, which refused to send a representative the meeting.
“We have a lot more homework to do, and we’re not going to produce a hasty, rushed job,” said Community Board 1 District Manager Craig Hammerman. “This is too important to too many people.”
