Intro. 0038-2006 (Yassky)
The Bicycle Access Bill
FACT & SUPPORT SHEET
PURPOSE manner that violates New York State building
or fire codes.
The Bicycle Access Bill will support a more
sustainable urban transportation network COMMENTS
and yield significant environmental, public
health and quality of life benefits for New As a city, we need to find creative solutions
Yorkers and New York City by encouraging that promote bicycling, one of the most
daily bicycle riding. environmentally sound modes of
transportation. According to the Department
The lack of secure bike parking is the number of City Planning, the number one barrier cited
one reason why more people don’t choose to by potential bicycle commuters is the lack of
bike to work; it is an essential amenity for safe, secure places to store their bike. Some
individuals who want to keep their bikes safe 70,000 bikes are stolen every year and less
from theft and the weather. Intro. 38 than 2% are recovered. Bike access to
addresses these obstacles with a policy of buildings is a sensible, straightforward
reasonable building access, whereby response to this problem, which will prevent
individual building owners and managers theft from standing in the way of a more
determine the best way to accommodate sustainable city and which will help achieve
employees who wish to ride to work and park PlaNYC’s goals of cutting emissions by 30%,
inside. while making NYC’s air the cleanest of any
big city in the United States by 2030.
SUMMARY
With Intro. 38, City Council has the
opportunity to help dramatically increase the
Intro. 38 will amend the city’s administrative
number of New Yorkers who choose to
code to require building owners and
bicycle to work, without placing undue
managers to (i) evaluate reasonable ways by
burdens on building owners or managers. In
which employees may access their building
its current form, the bill does not mandate
with a bicycle and (ii) determine possible
a “one size fits all” approach to bicycle
locations within the building for bicycle
access, but simply puts forth a standard
storage.
requirement of reasonable review for how
each individual building, commercial
Notwithstanding the directive of the second
tenant and would-be cyclist employee can
provision, no bicycle shall be stored in a
work together to find a suitable solution.
Intro. 0038-2006 Fact & Support Sheet 1
Allowing bicycles in buildings presents the storage. As the DOT rapidly builds out the
greatest cost-benefit ratio of any zero city’s on-street bicycle infrastructure—200
emissions urban transportation or green- new miles of bike lanes by 2009—it is
building retrofitting initiative, and can be increasingly apparent that indoor bike
implemented immediately. parking is a critical element of any holistic
plan. Intro. 38 will help establish the secure
Supporting PlaNYC bike parking necessary to support the
Among PlaNYC’s many ambitious goals, it desired increase.
commits to pursuing “legislation to require
that large commercial buildings make Supporting Businesses and Their
provision for bicycle storage either on site or Employees
reasonably nearby.” With a goal of reducing Intro. 38 offers clear benefits to employers,
traffic, improving air quality and lowering employees and the environment alike.
greenhouse gas levels, the Mayor realizes Employees benefit from the improved health,
that cycling offers an emission-free, low-cost alertness and quality of life that come with
travel mode and that secure indoor bike the ability to efficiently commute by bicycle.
parking is the easiest way to immediately At the same time, employers reap the
increase cycling rates. increases in productivity associated with a
happier, healthier workforce, even as they
Supporting The Department of City improve the quality of the environment for all
Planning: Planning for the Future New Yorkers by supporting a zero-emission
With a proposed Bicycle Parking Zoning Text mode of transportation.
Amendment, The Department of City Planning
will help make sure that when new buildings Despite clear demand, willing cyclists and
are constructed, they automatically include their employers often encounter blanket
appropriate indoor bicycle parking facilities. building-wide policies prohibiting tenants
from entering the premises with a bicycle.
However, by 2030, existing buildings will Intro. 38 addresses this issue by putting in
account for 85% of the city’s inventory. These place a policy of reasonable building access,
buildings will not be subject to the text whereby individual building owners and
amendment changes, highlighting the critical managers determine the best way to
role that Intro.38 has to play. By addressing accommodate tenants who wish to ride to
the vast majority of our city’s building stock, work and park inside.
Intro. 38 is the perfect compliment to a
Bicycle Parking Zoning Text Amendment and Current Buildings Leading the Way
will help New York City significantly increase Adopting a wide array of building access and
its number of daily cycling commuters. indoor parking options, the following
buildings demonstrate existing successful
Supporting The NYC Department of models and would satisfy the provisions of
Transportation Intro. 38.
Doubling the number of bike commuters is a
key goal of the DOT’s strategic plan and 557 Broadway: Access through back
cannot be achieved without safe, secure of building. Employees park bikes
Intro. 0038-2006 Fact & Support Sheet 2
underneath a stairwell in the mail potential loss of personal property claims.
room. Furthermore, it is common practice for
building owners and or managers to post “At
333 Hudson Street: Access through Your Own Risk” signs, establishing that the
main entrance. Employees utilize building owner or manager will not be held
main elevator bank and store their responsible for theft or damage to the
bikes in their respective offices. bicycle.
1 Madison Avenue: Credit Suisse
SUPPORT
employees enter the building through
the main entrance. Employees park
bikes in a dedicated bike room • Council Members: Yassky, Brewer, James,
located on the lobby floor. Koppell, Sanders Jr., Weprin, Foster,
Monserrate, Liu, Vallone Jr., Palma,
McMahon, Gonzalez, White Jr., Mark-
11 Penn Plaza: Access through the
Viverito, Nelson, Martinez, Mendez,
back of the building. Employees
Gioia, Garodnick, de Blasio, Jackson,
utilize freight elevator and store their
Gentile, Recchia Jr., Felder,
bikes in their respective offices. Post-
Seabrook, Gerson, Reyna and The Public
freight elevator hours, employees exit
Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)
building via main elevator banks.
• Jonathan Rose Companies, Inc.
• National Resource Defense Council
60 Broad/25 Beaver: Access
through the back of the building. • Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Employees utilize freight elevator and • American Lung Association of New York,
store their bikes in common areas on Inc.
individual floors or in their personal • Straphangers Campaign
office space. • Environmental Defense Fund
• Local Development Corporation of West
New York City Municipal Buildings Bronx
including 280 Broadway, 100 Gold • American Institute of Architects, New
Street and 125 Worth Street: York Chapter
Access through either front or side of • The Film Society of Lincoln Center
the buildings. Employees park bikes
in dedicated bike rooms located on HISTORY
the first floor or basement level.
Introduced on February 1, 2006, and referred
Insurance and Liability to the Committee on Housing and Buildings.
Bikes in buildings do not affect standard
insurance policies for industrial, commercial, STATUS
or office buildings.
Pending hearing in Committee on Housing
Private building owners and or managers do
and Buildings.
not assume “possession” or “control” of
individual bicycles, thereby negating
Intro. 0038-2006 Fact & Support Sheet 3
Intro. 0038-2006 Fact & Support Sheet 4