Ridgewood Garden Associates Inc., a residential co-op based in Maspeth, is filing a lawsuit against the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) and Lyft for their alleged lack of negotiation on alternative locations for the installation of Citi Bike stations near their property.
According to Ridgewood Garden Associates Inc.’s president of the board of directors, George Mandato, the organization sent a letter to Councilman Robert Holden in December 2022 requesting a discussion about alternative locations and dates for the DOT’s installation of the bike stations. However, they were unable to get the chance to do so.
“We were never given the opportunity to state our concerns,” Mandato told QNS. “What was said was they weren’t willing to change their projections.”
Mandato told QNS that the company was informed 10 days prior to the installation of the Citi Bike stations, which began on Jan. 9.
Mandato said that the bike stations would make it hard to find parking for ambulances and nurses who support elderly residents living in the homes.
“It’s kind of ridiculous where they want to put these particular stations because it affects our elderly community very much,” Mandato said. “The inability to find parking is a serious problem for them.”
Mandato also says that the company wasn’t against adding the bike stations but believes there were better locations to install them.
“We’re not against the use of bikes, but I believe that there are alternatives where they could put their bikes instead of where they’d like to put them,” Mandato said.
The hearing between the Ridgewood Garden Associates, Lyft and the DOT will commence on Feb. 8.
A DOT spokesperson declined to comment on the pending lawsuit and referred QNS to the NYC Law Department. A spokesperson for the department told QNS the case is still under review.
Additionally, a spokesperson for Lyft told QNS the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.
