Residents of one Brooklyn apartment building are trashing the Citi Bike program — with real garbage.
Tenants at 150 Joralemon St. in Brooklyn Heights over the weekend tossed bags of refuse and recycling debris on a rack of blue Citi Bikes as an impromptu — and repellent — protest against the new 21-bike rack.
“There just isn’t enough room,” said Nina Hackler, 29. “Something has to give — and this time, it’s the bikes.”
Anneke Berkem, 69, has lived on the block for 17 years, and said she has never been so inconvenienced before.
“They have to place garbage at a tree about 30 feet from racks, and the recycling pile started about 15 feet from racks all the way mid through the rack,” Berkem said.
“We feel this is not the right spot. There are other places in the neighborhood. We have a very crowded neighborhood. We were never consulted.
“We didn’t find out about them until they were put in.”
Complaints have rolled in from all corners of the city where the bothersome bike racks have been installed.
Critics say they restrict parking, impede trash pickups and are just a plain eyesore.
Meanwhile, there was ongoing confusion on the second day of Citi Bike’s full launch, which has opened it up to single-day and weekly riders.
“I don’t understand this,” said Rita Gassar, 43, as she tried to renew a bike session in Union Square.
“Unlimited use for 30 minutes, but it’s a 24-hour pass. Why would I take it out for 30 minutes? What if I want it for longer? This doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s annoying, it’s really annoying,” said Ronica Mukerjee, 38, a nurse practitioner from the Lower East Side, who called the Citi Bike hot line when the rack at Forsyth and Broome streets wouldn’t release any bicycles.
“I bought a yearly membership, and now the two stations closest to my house are not working.
“It doesn’t give me hope that this will be a reasonable way to commute.”