PARK SLOPE — Bikes will get eight new parking spots and cars will lose one under a city proposal for a new "bike corral" on Fifth Avenue.
The Department of Transportation has proposed installing the on-street bike rack in front of L'Albero dei Gelati, a popular gelato shop and cafe at 341 Fifth Ave. near Fourth Street.
Community Board 6's transportation committee approved the proposal at its Sept. 15 meeting. The full board will vote on the proposal next month.
The idea could face some resistance from locals who say the new Citi Bike docking stations are already eating up scarce street parking in the neighborhood. Tempers flared so much over the issue at a recent Community Board 6 meeting that someone called 911.
The arrival of the bike-sharing service in Park Slope has prompted an angry online petition complaining about the loss of parking spots, many outraged tweets, and even graffiti.
@CitiBikeNYC Too many stations in park slope! Hoards limited parking, makes users manage bikes on sidewalks or in middle of busy streets.
— Jonathan Berger (@Jonny_TB) September 2, 2016
Thank you NYC for wiping out EVEN MORE PARKING SPACES WITH YOUR CITIBIKE STANDS in Park Slope. I hate this town. pic.twitter.com/o897NqCtSi
— That Igle kid (@JAMALIGLE) September 1, 2016
Spotted in Park Slope. Cc @bradlander pic.twitter.com/JIa7vIbUhl
— Nikhita Venugopal (@nkvenugopal) September 20, 2016
Bike corrals aren't related to Citi Bike, but they are another encroachment on car parking in favor of bicycle parking in a neighborhood known as "no park Slope."
L'Albero dei Gelati owner Monia Trezza requested the bike corral because many parents with kids ride bikes to the shop, she told DNAinfo New York. The corral will be right next to the shop's outdoor service window, so customers will be able to ride right up, hop off their bikes to buy gelato, then be on their way, Trezza said.
L'Albero dei Gelati uses sustainably-sourced ingredients when possible and follows the tenets of the "slow food" movement, so promoting bike use fits in with its eco-friendly philosophy, Trezza said.
"Bicycles are very green and good for the environment so we think it's the perfect spot for it," Trezza said.
The bike corral will be similar in design to the ones in front of Al di La restaurant on Fifth Avenue and Carroll Street and Gorilla Coffee on Fifth Avenue and Park Place. There are also on-street bike corrals in front of Rose Water restaurant on Union Street and Sixth Avenue, and in front of the NYPD's 78th Precinct stationhouse on Sixth Avenue and Bergen Street.
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