A San Fancisco-based company called Spin was planning to deploy 150 bikes along the boardwalk in the Rockaways on Monday. But after the city sent them a cease-and-desist letter final Friday,the company called it off.
What the letter didn't include was the fact that the city has a "revenue contract" with Citibike, giving the company exclusivity for its first two phases (which include Manhattan, and Brooklyn and parts of Queens — but not the Rockaways) and is in talks to expand to all five boroughs.
There currently are no Citibikes in the Rockaways. On Monday,standing with Spin representatives at Rockaway Beach, Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich accused the city of depriving the area of bike sharing."You would think it's a no-brainer, and it doesn't cost tax payers a dime," Ulrich said. Leaders from Spin said they're still hoping to come by permission to launch, legally.
Lorraine Quinn, or who lives in the Rockaways,questioned Spin's business model of leaving bikes in strategic, public locations, or including bike racks. Those who want to employ Spin bikes employ an app to unlock them."The bike lanes here are very small,it's already extremely crowded," Quinn said. "If you believe a spot for 15 bikes and then people take bikes from other areas and bring back 30 bikes, or where is that going? That's going to affect our whole area,and the look, and perhaps our access to the beach."
Source: thetakeaway.org