NO HELMET: A man pedals away from 14th and Broadway with a youngster who’s not wearing a mandatory-for-kids helmet. Clearly, though, the smiling boy doesn’t mind. (Tamara Beckwith)
STRANDED: Yong Zhu says he couldn’t get his bike out of the rack at Hudson and Bank streets. “There are no instructions on how to pull it out,” he complained. (Gregory P. Mango)
UH, LIKE THIS? An unsteady Mayor Bloomberg wobbles for the cameras on a Citi Bike yesterday. (Chad Rachman/New York Post)
New Yorkers who ponied up $95 for a year of the Citi Bike share program got to ride the blue two-wheelers for the first time yesterday — and exposed a slew of early glitches with the racks, bicycles and even the smartphone app that tracks them.
Yong Zhu, 40, ran into trouble trying to get a second bike in Greenwich Village after returning one he’d used earlier, worrying he’d get slapped with a steep fine.
“When I put my card in to get another bike, it gave me red,” he fumed about the display on the Citibank-sponsored bike racks, which is supposed to flash a green light when it’s been used properly. “I tried another rack, and it gave me red. I can’t get any out. Now I’m afraid that it is going to give me a $1,000 fine!”
Eddie Bricker, 24, an engineer from Clinton Hill who rented a bike near Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, complained about the vehicles’ maneuverability.
“The bike is definitely bulky,” he said, “but it seems like that’s what they wanted — a slower, safer bike. It was a little tricky to get out, and to get it back in. you literally have to ram it.”
DeNorval Parks, 52, owner of a Brooklyn barber shop, said he was able to easily yank a bike from its dock at Carlton and Park avenues — without a key card.
“You saw me! I didn’t use any excessive force; it just came right out!” he said, before taking a short ride and then jamming the bike back into the rack. “I should be able to call the city and get some kind of reward for returning this.”
One man who picked up a bike at 14th Street and Broadway plopped a young boy on the seat — without a helmet, which state law requires for kids under 14 — and then pedaled off astride the stem of the bike while the boy clung to his back.
Others were disappointed that the smartphone app wasn’t working properly.
“The rollout was poorly planned. The app wasn’t working correctly . . . They didn’t have people at the stations,” said Cynthia Grayson, 30, a West Village resident returning a bike at Central Park South.
Even Mayor Bloomberg looked a bit unsteady as he hopped on one of the hulking blue behemoths after much goading for a photo op outside City Hall with DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
Hizzoner warily straddled the bike for just 18 seconds — with his left foot firmly planted on the ground — and didn’t budge the wheels an inch.
The mayor quickly hopped off and passed the bike to Sadik-Khan, who expertly took it for a quick spin.
“We now have an entirely new transportation network without spending any taxpayer money,” Bloomberg gushed at the news conference.
Gripes aside, according to DOT:
■ Riders had rented the bicycles 6,050 times by 7 p.m.
■ The average ride lasted 20.48 minutes.
■ Cyclists pedaled 13,768 miles.
■ 16,463 people had signed up to become annual members.
The most popular Citi Bike rack stations yesterday were at East 17th Street and Broadway (with 113 rentals), followed by Broadway and West 57th Street (109) and Broadway at East 14th Street (98).
Nonmembers will have to wait until June 2 to saddle up on one of the 6,000 bikes at the 330 stations that will be open by then.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Rosenberg, Josh Saul and Jennifer Gould Keil