Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bike Sharing

Judge Rejects Plaza Hotel’s Citi Bike Lawsuit

Blue is just barbaric, unlike yellow. Image: Google Maps
Blue is just barbaric, unlike yellow. Image: Google Maps
Blue is just barbaric, unlike yellow. Image: Google Maps

It was fun while it lasted, but the era of NIMBY lawsuits against NYC bike-share stations has now run its course. Today a Manhattan judge rejected the Plaza Hotel's suit seeking to remove the Citi Bike station across the street from its entrance. This marks the final court decision regarding the four lawsuits challenging bike-share station locations -- litigants have come up empty in every case.

The Plaza sued to have the Citi Bike station removed on aesthetic, preservationist, and environmental grounds, arguing that it is a visual blight on the landmarked hotel and nearby Grand Army Plaza (also a landmark), which causes traffic to back up.

The street in front of the Plaza is exceptionally wide but just one block long -- the only transportation function is to drop off and pick up people and things at the hotel. Before the bike-share station went in, idle livery vehicles took up the same space.

So, Judge Cynthia Kern was having none of it. "This congestion appears to be the Plaza's own creation and does not appear to be solely caused by the bike share station," she wrote in her decision [PDF].

Kern also batted away the aesthetic argument. "Specifically, the bike share station at issue was placed on the street, is lower in scale than the many cars that line Grand Army Plaza and is similar in appearance to nearby street furniture such as bus stations."

Kern is the same judge who dismissed the suit against a Citi Bike station in Soho's Petrosino Square. The lawsuit against the bike-share station at 99 Bank Street has also been rejected, and back in March, a Brooklyn judge tossed a suit seeking to remove a station from in front of 150 Joralemon Street.

The bike-share NIMBY lawsuits may be gone, but thanks to historical artifacts like this we can hang on to the memory and tell our descendants about the time these people freaked out about some public bike docks.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Preventable’: Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Two on Third Av. Corridor Eric Adams Refuses to Make Safer

A motorist struck and killed two men on a strip where Mayor Adams recently shelved a safety redesign amid a backlash from local business interests.

July 11, 2025

Why No BRT For NYC? Two New Reports Tackle Why Your Bus Service Sucks

Years of bus priority projects barely made a dent in speeds because Big Apple leaders won't install real bus rapid transit, two recent reports argue.

July 11, 2025

Citi Bike Riders Are Pissed About Eric Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit

Citi Bike's new 15 mph max speed limit is a bad deal for riders and a potential threat to safety, riders said.

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: Cyclists, Check Out Your Next City

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson visited London earlier this summer to check in on the Big Smoke's cycling revolution.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Just the News Edition

We've got one more workday before we can hit the beach. Plus the news.

July 11, 2025

Council To Close Instacart Loophole, Pass Delivery Industry Regulation Bills

The City Council will vote on Monday to close the "Instacart loophole" and force all app companies to pay workers a minimum wage.

July 10, 2025
See all posts