Roosevelt Island Subway & Tram Bike Racks Can Now Be Used For Late Night Storage – If Preregistered With Public Safety Department

Image of Subway Bike Rack With Enforcement Notice From Roosevelt Island 360
According to the RIOC Advisory Web Page:

Bike Rack Advisory

For All Bike Racks On Roosevelt Island
There Will Be No Bicycle Storage Between the Hours of 2:00AM and 5:00AM.
Bicycles Found In Violation Will Be Removed By The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.

Well, that is about to change. RIOC has modified the Roosevelt Island overnight bicycle storage policy recently implemented in which any bicycle found at the Tram or Subway bike racks between the hours of 2-5 AM would be removed, taken to the Public Safety Office and later, if not abandoned, claimed by the owner. Both Streetsblog and Roosevelt Island 360 reported extensively on this policy. From Streetsblog:

According to an e-mail from Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation President Steve Shane, however, enforcement will not begin until next week. At that point, any bike found on a rack between 2 and 5 a.m. will be confiscated, says the RIOC, and owners will have 48 hours to claim them before they are donated to a thrift store.

Subway Bike Rack This Morning
RIOC will now allow overnight storage of bicycles at the Tram and Subway Bike Racks if they are preregistered with the Public Safety Department. In response to my inquiry, RIOC President Steve Shane advises:

We are not regulating bike racks other than at the Tram & Subway. If preregistered with Public Safety, won’t be removed. The intent is to clear the derelict & long term storage bicycles so that commuters will have plenty of parking space and thus be encouraged to use their bikes, for all the appropriate health & ecological reasons.

Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Keith Guerra adds:

There is no overnight storage of bicycles on bike racks owned and managed by RIOC. Bike racks owned by the buildings themselves are managed by them. As Mr. Shane indicated, if someone needs to lock their bike to one of the racks (i.e. the Tram or Subway) during the hours of 2:00AM and 5:00AM, they may advise the Desk Officer at Public Safety and that bike will not be removed.

So, if you work late at night or are just out having fun and use your bicycle to commute to the Tram or Subway, let the Public Safety Department know and your bicycle should be there when you return. It is not clear if one must notify the Public Safety Department on a daily basis if you are going to use the bike racks during late night hours or there will be some sort of weekly or monthly registration.Happy Late night pedaling. – 4:15 PM- For clarification purposes, Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Guerra advises that bikes may be locked up at the tram and subway bike racks during the 2-5 AM hours but there has been no change in the policy that prohibits overnight storage of bikes on a regular basis. The intent of this policy is to allow late night commuters to use the bike racks, not to allow residents to use these bike racks as a permanent storage area as some have previously been doing. As of now, contact the Public Safety Department each day you plan on having your bicycle locked up at the Subway or Tram bike racks during the 2-5 AM hours and it will not be removed. If you need your bike locked up during these hours on a regular basis, advise the Public Safety Department of your situation. They will attempt to work out a solution.Mr. Guerra also reported that a total of 26 bicycles have been confiscated and only three were claimed. The unclaimed bicycles were given to the Thrift shop.