Citi Bike Opens Gowanus Operations Facility

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — Citi Bike officials, elected leaders and workers on Tuesday celebrated the opening of a new operations facility in Gowanus that will serve as a hub for repairing the network's 10,000 bikes and 600 stations.

The 16,000 square-foot facility is located on 14th Street between Second and Third avenues and employs 174 people, most of whom are members of the Transit Workers Union.

The new work space is part of an aggressive Citi Bike expansion in Brooklyn. Officials said they hope to add 2,000 more bikes and 150 more stations to its network.

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"Our dedicated employees work hard every day to ensure that using Citi Bike to get around is not only fun and easy, but safe," Jay Walder, the President and CEO of Motivate, which operates Citi Bike, said. "Our new Gowanus home will ensure that Citi Bike staff has all the tools necessary to keep the system running smoothly condition for New Yorkers and visitors alike as the system continues to grow to scale."

Workers at the facility can repair anything from the 7,000 flat tires Citi Bikes suffer per year to the electronic devices on the front of the bikes that "talk" to the docking stations. Employees have their own individual work stations, with large tool sets to help them make the necessary repairs.

The warehouse space also features "Wheels of Fame," with pictures and printed-out tweets of celebrities and other notable figures riding Citi Bikes.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called himself one of Citi Bike's biggest customer and said he hopes to see the program expand across the borough.

"When you drive through a community, you miss so much," Adams said. "But when you pedal through, you get it all, and you absorb all that a community has to offer."

City Councilman Brad Lander also said he's going to push for expansion into neighborhoods such as Windsor Terrace, Kensington and Sunset Park.

He also said the new facility fits in well in Gowanus' industrial zone and provides a vital public service.

"We want a real commitment to job-generating activities, to manufacturing and industrial businesses in the Gowanus (Industrial Business Zone). And that’s a great example," Lander told Patch after the event. "It’s great to have some businesses that are more like traditional manufacturing ... But one industrial activity you need are things that serve the surrounding, busy neighborhoods, a piece of the infrastructure."

Images via Marc Torrence, Patch Staff