The Department of Transportation rode away with a victory in a case against Citi Bike Thursday, defeating a challenge by a neighborhood group that a kiosk was improperly placed in a tiny SoHo park.
Manhattan Judge Cynthia Kern was the first to rule on at least four legal challenges over the placement of the clunky bike share racks around Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Opponents of the Citi Bike Station in Petrosino Park just south of Spring Street sued the city in June claiming the 32-bike docking station did not qualify as a parkland use because it was for commuters, not pleasure riders.
But Kern disagreed.
She wrote that the placement was appropriate because “bicycling is an important form of recreation that has had a proper ‘park purpose’ for many years demonstrated by the fact that the infrastructure to support bicycling, such as bike paths, bicycle racks and rest stations are common incidents in parks.”
One of the opponents blasted her decision.
“We firmly believe that the public should have a say over land use decisions,” said parks advocate Geoffrey Croft. “It’s pretty clear the citing of this Citi Bike station is not a park purpose as it has zero connection to that tiny park.”
The opponents plan to appeal the decision.
She noted that a regular bike rack had existed in the triangular sliver of parkland before DOT plopped a Citi Bike kiosk at its northern end April.
“A bike share station has a direct connection to the important park purpose of bicycle recreation and allows easy access to and further encourages the use of parkland by the public,” Kern ruled.
She called the opponents’ argument that bike share is “purely commuter-transit program” without merit.
The DOT “rationally rejected alternative locations for various reasons, including safety concerns,” Kern wrote in her decision.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision,” the opponents’ attorney, Jim Walden said. “A commuter program has no place in a park and believe an appeals will agree.”
Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said the court’s decision, “is a victory for the hundreds of riders who use this station every day.”
“As we’ve said from the beginning, this installation was completely proper,” said Senior Counsel Sarah Kogel-Smucker. “We’re very pleased the Court agreed.”