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

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 Building
Management with increasing frequency that some tenants are using Public
Corridors as storage for bicycles. As well as being in violation of New York
City Fire Code, this is also extremely inconvenient and discourteous to other
tenants. In asking that these tenants cease and desist immediately from this
practice, Building Management would also ask that all tenants make themselves
aware 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.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Indoor Bike Parking: How to Get It Done

|
The Bikes in Buildings Bill still awaits a hearing in City Council, while building managers weigh whether to voluntarily provide bike access and parking. Thankfully, not everyone is hesitating. Here's how one New York office building just got friendlier for bike commuters.

TA: Zoning Great for Tomorrow; Bike Access Can Improve Today

|
From a statement released by Transportation Alternatives in response to this morning’s bike parking announcement (emphasis added): Transportation Alternatives applauds the Bloomberg Administration’s announcement that the zoning code will now require indoor bicycle parking at all new office and apartment buildings. In enabling future New Yorkers to undertake zero emission commutes, this is a large […]

Bronxites Pick Parking Over People

|
Residents of the Zerega Avenue section of the Bronx are upset that beds for the sick will be putting a crimp in neighborhood parking stock. The Bronx Times reports that a new four-story building on the corner of Herschell Street and Westchester Avenue, with apartments and a ground-floor medical facility, will be exempt from parking […]
STREETSBLOG USA

More Urban Developers Question the Wisdom of Building Parking

|
A San Francisco developer made headlines a few weeks ago when it offered tenants $100 a month toward Uber and BART in an attempt to reduce the usage of on-site parking. Brandon G. Donnelly at Network blog Architect this City says this type of arrangement will be increasingly common in cities where building parking attached to housing makes less and less sense: When I was […]