Here’s the latest portrait in Streetsblog’s “Why I Ride” series.
Julio has been working as a building superintendent for 15 years. During that time he has found that a bike is the best way to move between the 10 properties he supervises. He lives in Alphabet City and had at one point considered using his car for work, but found that gas prices and parking hassle and expense were just not worth it. He rides year round, preferring the bike over the subway even in winter: "The subway sometimes is too slow. And I have buildings all over the place." The properties he manages are scattered from Midtown to Chinatown, so most of his trips are five miles or less. It's an added bonus that he is not underground in case a tenant needs to call him.
Julio had a smaller, lighter bike that was recently stolen; he assumes the thieves had cut through the padlock (they made off with the chain). So he's riding his backup cruiser bike, which he's not thrilled with: "It's too heavy! I usually like to bring my bike inside the building. Not so easy going up stairs with this one." He's now in the market for a new bike. A system of, say, public bikes stationed within easy walking distance of his buildings might also help with the lugging-up-stairs problem.
