From today's NY Daily News

Bikers want parking pass

Rail at MTA's no-lock law

BY RIVKA BUKOWSKY
DAILY NEWS WRITER

There's a wheel problem in Williamsburg.

Police removed 20 bicycles from signposts and subway railings last week, angering cycling commuters who say they have nowhere else to park.

"I can't park my bike on top of someone else's bike," said Web designer Miao Wang, who left her bike chained to the Bedford Ave. L station railing - and then picked it up from the 94th Precinct stationhouse last Friday.

Wang, 28, said overflowing bike racks have trapped her in a cycle of frustration.

"It's always packed," she said of the racks that line N. Seventh St. "What do they expect people to do?"

Bike activists say cops are addressing a symptom, not the cause, of the problem.

"Williamsburg and Greenpoint definitely have some of the highest cycling rates of anywhere in the city," said Noah Budnick of advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. "They are in desperate need of more bike racks."

Abandoned bikes have been rusting for years on the racks, neighborhood residents said. Because they're legally parked, police leave them alone.

Station agent George Davila, who has lived in Williamsburg since 1972, pointed out two bikes collecting rust on a rack in front of Oasis Restaurant on N.Seventh St.

"These have been here for four years," he said.

The police raid didn't seem to deter residents: Several new bikes already were attached to the Bedford Ave. station on a recent afternoon.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority sign warning riders that items attached to the railing will be removed is generally ignored also.

An officer from the 94th Precinct who asked that her name not be used said removing the bikes was an exercise in futility.

"It takes us hours and hours," she said. "It causes a big uproar with people. You can't win."

But numerous complaints about bikes being in people's way prompted the police to take action, she said.

"Last year this old lady fell down the subway stairs and hurt her ankle," said the cop. "We're getting our behinds chewed out all the time by people."

Not every bike rider who got busted was unaware of the law, the officer said.

"Some of the people who did it are the same people who did it last year," when police last removed illegally parked bikes, she said.

City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez (D-Manhattan) has proposed a law that would require police to notify riders before taking their bikes.

Originally published on October 12, 2005