Citi Bikes get complaints from lovers and haters alike. (Photo by: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
It seems like there’s something for everyone to hate when it comes to Citi Bike. Despite a largely positive reception, bike share lovers still grumble about empty Citi Bike stations in the East Village during rush hour. As for bike share haters? They’re still searching for lawsuit opportunities at every turn.
Most recently, two lawsuits have been filed against Citi Bike by pedestrians who tripped over docking stations (both happened before the program even launched). The parties claim that the stations were hard to see, which would come as a surprise to the many neighborhood groups who assailed the stations for being too ugly.
Granted, one of the parties, who is legally blind, alleges that the gray color of the docking station blends in with the street and sidewalk; he is suing the city for $500 after twisting his ankle (badly). The other is trying for $1 million after falling down and injuring her “knees, left elbow, back and neck.”
While unfortunate, tripping and falling in the street sometimes kind of comes with living in a city. What if we all sued each other on a daily basis for the pushing and shoving and toe-stepping that is part of life in New York? Or for all the times we twisted an ankle whilst sidestepping the piles of garbage that line our streets?
But the two injury claims might actually be a step up from other Citi Bike lawsuits we’ve seen recently. At least it’s not another legal challenge over a rack’s location or general unsightliness. There is, after all, a group out there alleging that a bike rack in SoHo’s Petrosino Square is taking up public art space, although from the pictures of their performance art protest, there seems to be plenty of space for both.
In the face of these continuous complaints, all these claims seem to be doing is propagating the stereotype of angry New Yorkers.
