NYC’s Greenest Building Cracks Down on Bikes (Updated)

10:58 AM EDT on July 18, 2007

The Solaire building in Battery Park City bills itself as "America's first environmentally advanced residential tower." Here is a letter that building management just sent to all tenants:

It has been brought to the attention of BuildingManagement with increasing frequency that some tenants are using PublicCorridors as storage for bicycles. As well as being in violation of New YorkCity Fire Code, this is also extremely inconvenient and discourteous to othertenants. In asking that these tenants cease and desist immediately from thispractice, Building Management would also ask that all tenants make themselvesaware of Building Policy regarding Public Hallways…

Streetsblog reader Hilary Kitasei notes, "The problem is
that all of these new green residential buildings around here have no more
storage space for bicycles, no outdoor bike racks, and no space for bikes in the
parking garages."

The Solaire does, however, offer an underground parking garage for motor vehicles (with 24-7 carbon dioxide monitoring. How green!) We will give a free Open Planning Project t-shirt to the first person who can find out how many car parking spaces there are beneath the Solaire.

Update: Solaire fans are writing in to say that the building does indeed provide a bike parking room, though it doesn't seem to be big enough to meet demand. A TOPP t-shirt for anyone who can come up with a photo of the bike parking room.

Aaron Naparstek

AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.

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