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Well-Mannered Vandals Strike CitiBike Stations in Historic Neighborhoods


April 22, 2013 | Julia Dawidowicz

Some residents of NYC’s “historic districts” are unhappy with CitiBike, NYC’s otherwise very exciting and eco-friendly Bike Share program. The much-anticipated CitiBike stations have only just begun popping up around the city, and residents of neighborhoods like TriBeCa, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill have already decided that they’re ugly and THEY HATE THEM.

In attempt to remove these ad-ridden eyesores, aggrieved locals have taken to posting ALL CAPS-ly-worded letters on the stations themselves. Flyers found near the Brooklyn Flea read: “Residential landmark blocks are not for advertising or commercial activity!” Yet despite voiced concerns about their allegedly clashing corporate-aesthetics, the Landmark Preservation Society has already approved the placement of the CitiBike stations in historic neighborhoods.

CitiBike has apparently offended so many Brooklynites that Councilwoman Tish James scheduled a town hall meeting on the issue for this Wednesday evening.

Maybe someone should bring up the fact that European cities, far older and more “historic” than New York, have long been using bike share programs successfully.