Citi Bike Arrives on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side

Citi Bike has begun its expansion to the Upper East Side and Upper West Side.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Ben Kallos, DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione, DOT Deputy Commissioner for Policy Michael Replogle and Citi Bike General Manager Jules Flynn celebrated the first Citi Bike station on the Upper East Side with a photo-op this morning at 67th Street and Lexington Avenue.

As of this afternoon, stations have also been installed on the Upper West Side at 63rd and Broadway and along Central Park West at 68th and 72nd streets. In the coming weeks, a total of 47 stations will be installed as far north as 86th Street. Next year, 31 additional stations will bring Citi Bike as far north as W. 110th Street and E. 96th Street.

While the latest expansion is exciting, the station density on the Upper East and Upper West sides is lower than both the existing Citi Bike service area and DOT's own density targets. This makes bike-share less convenient, potentially hampering ridership in two of the city's densest neighborhoods. At this morning's event, Daily News transit reporter Dan Rivoli asked about station density, and Kallos said he would welcome additional bike-share stations in the neighborhood.

Most stations in Citi Bike's latest round of expansion have already been installed in Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bed-Stuy. Expansion will continue next year, with stations in Harlem, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Red Hook by the end of 2017.

New York isn't the only city in the area getting bike-share stations: The first of 35 Jersey City bike-share was installed today.