PEDAL MEDDLE: Frank Arroyo, owner of Frank’s Bike Shop, rents bikes for $30 a day. But Citi Bike, set up outside, is renting for $10. (
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A neighborhood fixture who’s been peddling bikes in Manhattan for 37 years says his business will be struggling to survive — now that the city has parked a slew of its corporate-sponsored rental cycles just outside his door.
Under the city’s bike-share program — which debuts today — a rack of 40 blazing blue Citi Bikes was installed a mere 150 feet from Frank’s Bike Shop on Grand Street on the Lower East Side. And the shop’s 68-year-old owner, affectionately known as “Dr. Frank,” is worried about his future.
“My biggest question is how did they come about to choose the areas where they put these bikes. Did they study the areas? Did they look at the businesses around them?” asked a flabbergasted Frank Arroyo.
Arroyo’s shop at 533 Grand St. rents bikes, mostly to tourists, at $30 a day. The rate for the Citibank-sponsored bikes is $10 for a 24-hour pass.
He also sells Schwinns and repairs tires.
The revenue from rentals makes up a third of his income.
Arroyo said the city didn’t bother to consult him before installing a kiosk so close to his storefront.
Before the kiosk went up, in sight of Arroyo’s shop, he was planning to build up his rentals.
“It has become more and more of a year-round business,” he said. “You got tourists that come, and Europeans especially are used to using bikes year-round. It’s a growing business.”
Now he has to change gears.
“I’m going to have to concentrate on where I can make more income to make up for the potential loss,” he said.
Arroyo wishes the city had partnered with local bike shops for the program.
“It would’ve been nice if [Citi Bike] would’ve had a program teaching young people how to fix bikes,” he said.
Locals are dismayed by Arroyo’s plight.
Arroyo, who lives a short walk down Grand Street, is known for mentoring local youth and giving them repair gigs to keep them off the streets. One such charge became an NYPD cop, he boasts.
“Frank’s an institution. He’s been here for decades,” said Jacob Goldman, 41, a neighborhood real-estate broker. “Frank’s Bike Shop was pushing bike culture way before Michael Bloomberg and Citibank. They are really the Johnny-come-latelys.”
Jamie Rogers, 30, who runs the nearby Cowboy Pizza and Pushcart Coffee, said it would be terrible if competition from Citi Bike forced Arroyo to close his doors.
“That’d be losing something that’s invaluable to this neighborhood,” Rogers said.
“There’s not a person in this neighborhood who doesn’t know Frank’s Bike Shop,” he said.
“The bike-share program is being touted for bringing in more business, and I guess Frank’s Bike Shop is the exception to that.”
A city Department of Transportation spokesman said Frank’s is listed on the program’s map and digital app.
“We expect bike-share will help local businesses like Frank’s as they sell more bike gear and helmets,” spokesman Seth Solomonow said.
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday downplayed any concerns about the city’s bike-share locations.
“We move things around all the time to see where it makes sense,’’ he said, adding that program “is going to be phenomenally popular.”
Additional reporting by Sally Goldenberg
The city’s bike-share program begins on a limited basis today.
Here’s a guide to some of the best and worst places to rent wheels:
1. Franklin Street near West Broadway, Tribeca
The bike rack here blocks the street and makes it unusable for cars — which makes it a great location for cyclists.
2. Greenwich Street at North Moore Street, Tribeca
Unlike some problematic neighborhoods, where bike racks were installed too close to buildings, this station is on a wide plaza, giving it a European feel.
3. Church Street at Leonard Street, Tribeca
Residents say that rolling a bike here would “automatically put you in heavy traffic and truck-delivery danger.” Others have complained that there are just too many bicycles already in the area.
4. Bank Street at Greenwich Street, West Village
Even avid bikers avoid this section of the neighborhood because it’s “one of the narrowest streets in” the area, not to mention full of bumpy cobblestones.
5. Grand Street between Henry and Jackson streets, Lower East Side
Locals say this rack is installed right at a crosswalk and will force pedestrians into eastbound traffic on Grand Street.
6. Maiden Lane near Gold Street, Financial District
Local residents and workers say this rack, located in front of a Gristedes, is “causing all kinds of grief” in an area already overloaded with pedestrians and could lead to traffic jams nearby.
7. Hicks Street between Montague and Remsen streets, Brooklyn Heights
Neighbors are concerned that the narrow busy streets around this rack could result in accidents.
8. 53rd Street between Madison and Park avenues, Midtown
Bike enthusiasts near this location are furious that this rack blocks one of the lanes of traffic, causing a bottleneck. “Why in the world would the city idiots put one of these things on a through street, blocking traffic?” said Dale Schlather.
HOW IT WORKS
* There are 6,000 bikes at more than 330 locations south of 59th Street in Manhattan and in parts of Brooklyn. As the program expands, there will be 10,000 bikes at 600 stations.
* The system is self-service. Users can pick up and return bikes at any station.
* Membership is available at citibikenyc.com.
* For now, the service is available only to those who pay $95 for an annual subscription. These members get an unlimited number of 45-minute rides, but must check in at a station every 45 minutes or pay extra.
* Nonmembers can jump on the bandwagon June 2, shelling out $9.95 for a 24-hour pass and $25 for a seven-day pass. Both passes are good for an unlimited number of 30-minute rides. The first extra half-hour is $2.50, the second $6.50, and any half-hour after that $9. But if riders don’t check in at a station after 30 minutes, they must pay $4 for the second half-hour, $9 for a third and $12 for every half-hour after that.
* Replacing a lost or stolen bike will cost you $1,200.