"For two years, I've been parking my bike at the corner of Battery Place and Greenwich Street, after construction removed the bike racks in Battery Park. In all that time, no one has ever damaged or tampered with my bike - until this past Sept. 11, when the city Department of Transportation took my bike and forced me through an ugly labyrinthian bureaucratic maze to get it back."
"My first call to the city's 311 service was met with flat denial - "The DOT would not do that." The operator blamed construction workers, then suggested the police might have my bike at a local precinct. None of this was true, but it's apparently what 311 operators are trained to say. My wife found the online DOT Commissioner's complaint line and filed a report. The next day, Sept. 12, DOT called back - not to help, but to tell us to file another complaint."
A daily cyclist parked at Battery Place and Greenwich Street for two years after bike racks were removed, without incident until Sept. 11 when the city Department of Transportation removed both the bike and the no-standing pole. Initial contact with 311 produced denial, misdirection, and blame toward construction workers or police. A complaint via the DOT Commissioner's line led DOT to locate the bike at the Borough Engineer's office under the 59th Street Bridge. At the DOT East 59th Street facility, a maintenance worker showed stored bikes and advised returning Saturday at 8 a.m. with the key to prove ownership.
Read at Streetsblog
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