We’re excited that the Citi Bike program has finally started expanding into Harlem, Brooklyn and Queens, but this Lower East Side dweller was most excited to see that one of the newly-planned 140 stations includes a new station in Alphabet City.
The new Citi Bike station will be located at East 12th St. and Avenue B. Not only are they adding this station in our neighborhood, but when the new station at 12/B is installed, it will be the closest one to my apartment! This station will be just two streets south of the former Citi Bike Hub at 14th and Avenue B, whose removal has caused a major shortage of bikes and docks in the area.
Their recent email newsletter touched on a variety of topics, but the one that caught my eye the most was the one about expansion. so I clicked of the in hopes that they would add another station in the area. The map that they sent over has stations marked yellow for “PLANNED” stations. There isn’t any more information on timing, but I’ll update this post if/when I come across it. As of this post, it’s the only new bike station in Manhattan below 97th street.
{UPDATE 9/14} Walked by the 12th street and Ave B today at 9 PM and saw the new station was already installed and full of bikes! It wasn’t functional as of this post, but looks like it should be ready in the next couple days, if not sooner. The Citi Bike app shows that there are 33 bike docks. Not only that, the station has a solar panel! Took a grainy photo of it below:
Though the additional station and bikes should provide some relief, I’m worried that it’s not enough to keep up with the void left by the 14th/B station. I guess time will tell.
