If you want a Citi Bike, you better bring a shovel.
Despite the bike-share program’s boasts this winter about hearty New Yorkers braving the cold, it takes some heavy digging to get a bike out of some of the racks, The Post has found.
The bike-docking station on St. James Place and Pearl Street at the Smith Houses has been encased in a 2¹/₂-foot-thick ice block, even though the city has pushed the program for public housing residents.
“Come on, City of New York, why don’t you care about us?” said frustrated tenant Mariah Renau, 17.
Amparo Jourdain, 19, said she was interested in using one of the Citi Bikes, but backed off when she saw the snow.
“I think they should put something to protect the bikes from the snow because it is not fair for everyone who wants to use them,” she said.
A station on Broadway and Battery Place was also difficult to access because of a blanket of snow — and was branded last week’s “NotSpot” by the blog bikeshareNYC.
A DOT spokesman said New York City Bike Share, which is in charge of operating the system, must remove snow and maintain its stations. It also must shovel the sidewalks and street locations when necessary.
“We are still in the process of shoveling out many stations. We have been slowed by the continual bouts of snow and icing, and also in several locations due to snow plows piling additional snow on our stations,” said a New York City Bike Share spokeswoman.
DOT staffers have been unhappy with New York City Bike Share’s snow removal so far this season, agency sources said.
Riders have been as well.
When Citi Bike posted a picture Monday of a row of bikes at a relatively clean station in Chinatown, one user chimed in, “You may have found the only accessible station this week.”
The DOT has boasted about the thousands of people using Citi Bike, despite the harsh weather.
During the snowstorm on Jan. 2, there were more than 3,000 riders who braved the streets.
But Smith tenant Angelica Galarzo, 18, said the snow-removal issues have made it difficult for visitors to enjoy the city.
“Say they want to go for a nice bike ride, go to Central Park, see the snow and the nice trees, the nice environment. They can’t do that,” she said.
Additional reporting by Lia Eustachewich