Coney Island has amusement parks, Brooklyn Heights has the Promenade, and now Greenpoint has Citi Bike.
The blue-bicycle-rental program expanded to Brooklyn’s most northerly neighborhood last week, and now day-trippers say they finally have a reason to visit — and a way to get around once they’re there.
“Having the bikes here is cool,” said Al Cartwright, a Citi Bike member who travelled all the way from his home on the distant island of Manhattan to bomb around Greenpoint on the bulky bikes two days after stations began arriving in the nabe. “I’ve never been to the neighborhood before so it’s been good being able to cruise around.”
Citi Bike installed its first Greenpoint station on Thursday at Franklin and Dupont streets near the waterfront, where developers are currently constructing the Greenpoint Landing mega-development. It has since added another 18 docks to the nabe, and one more is on the way, according to a spokeswoman.
Local merchants say they haven’t seen an uptick in business — yet — but some residents are worried the bike-bound visitors could bring more hassles than cash to the area.
“Maybe they’ll help local business, or maybe they’ll annoy drivers,” said Jennifer Nowak, a Greenpoint mother who lives near the Franklin and Dupont street dock. “I know people see it both ways about the bikers we already have.”
The program is also introducing the bikes to Bedford-Stuyvesant, and adding more docks to Williamsburg, which it says should be up and running by the end of summer.
