by Kim M 
They’re heeeeere…
Whether you what to cheer or sneer, Citi Bike has begun the first wave of its Greenpoint bike installations. Over the weekend, rows of blue bikes cropped up on streets like tactical operatives ready to whisk us off at any minute. Following in the footsteps of other bike sharing programs in cities like Paris, Rome and Mexico City, Citi Bike’s expansion into Brooklyn was designed to ease city street congestion and give…
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Greenpointers has covered Greenpoint & Williamsburg since 2007 — community boards, rezoning fights, local businesses, and the people whose lives and work give the neighborhood its character. Local news is collapsing across the country, but we're still here: independently owned, no corporate backing, no paywall. 18+ years, 280k+ monthly readers and followers, funded by the community we serve.
Why your support matters
I’m firmly in favor of adding bikes, even if it means less parking and idiot tourists mucking up the works, but putting bike stations in the street in a busy intersection on Greenpoint Avenue and Manhattan Avenue is madness. I watched several inexperienced cyclists struggle pulling bikes out of the rack, backing directly into traffic with their backs to the road and others weaving into traffic as they learned how to control their bikes. There will be someone hit and soon. I understand it is close to the subway but of all the corners they picked the worst. It was an astonishingly poor decision. Other locations are not bad. Adding one by the ferry pier is a no brainer.
thanks for the info and map! how much does it cost (if you don’t do the yearly thing) and how does it work payment-wise?
Hi Shrimptoast,
If you don’t want to do the yearly membership, Citi bike has 7 day and 24hr passes. For a 24 hr/7day pass, you can go to a Citi bike kiosk and buy one with your cc or debit card. When you buy a pass at the station, it’ll give you a code to unlock a bike. You’ll be able to use the bike within a 30 min period. If you need more time than that, they tack on a few dollars extra for the added minutes. It’s anywhere for $4-$12 depending on the extra minutes.
Check out this link for the nitty-gritty details: https://www.citibikenyc.com/pricing
Happy trails!