Email from our building management firm on Citibike station

Theso Corp.

300 East 71st Street

New York, New York


August 21, 2015


All Residents

THESO Corp.

300 East 71st Street

New York, New York 10021


Re: Proposed Citi-Bike Installation      


Dear Resident(s):

As many of you are already aware, the City has proposed the installation of a new a Citi-Bike, multi-station bicycle rack on the east side of Second Avenue, between 71st Street and 70th Street, in the vicinity of Walgreens.  In short, right in front of our building.  This installation, coupled with the current level of traffic in front of our building and the additional traffic that will arise once the Second Avenue subway stations open up, will cause tremendous amounts of congestion, both vehicular and pedestrian, right outside our windows.  The picture below, taken from the Citi-Bike website, shows the proposed placement of the new station.

[picture]

While we have been advised that the installation, should it not be relocated, will not take place until the MTA has completed their work on the Second Avenue subway in this specific location, this plan proposed by the City is not only unacceptable in its positioning but it is unfair to buildings such as ours that already deal with tremendous amounts of congestion.  Surely the City can find a less trafficked area to place this station.  To that end, the Board has been vigorously fighting this installation.  The Board has been working with an attorney to help navigate this fight and is doing everything possible to stop the installation.  We are also reaching out to the corporate offices of both Walgreens and Valley National Bank to get their support.    Despite our attorney's conversations with senior NYC administrators that nothing was decided nor finalized and we had time to fight this project, the plans for placement of the rack on our Second Ave frontage was nonetheless published on the Citi-Bike website after the Board's status report was delivered at the Annual Meeting in June.

Many residents have expressed a desire to help in this fight either by reaching out to personal contacts who may be able to assist in bringing about a change or by joining a committee to help coordinate the buildings efforts and attend various meetings about the proposed installation.  If you are interested in helping in the cause, now is the time to step forward.  Please call or email our managing agent, Adam Stern, at astern@akam.com of 212-271-0290 and he will forward your information to the Board.  A Board member will then reach out to you directly.

Unless we mount a strong fight, our voices will not be heard and the bikes will be here to stay.  Time is of the essence.  If you can and want to help, please reach out ASAP.


Sincerely,

The Board of Directors