New and Older Apartments Cater to Bike Riders—In a Big Way

"Driven by demand as well as a city mandate, developers and building owners are carving out bike rooms for residents to store what for some has become their transportation mode of choice," writes Jane Margolies for The New York Times. 

The state-of-the-art spaces often have their own entrances, saving wear-and-tear on the lobby and passenger elevators. They also offer their own gear by way of pumps and repair stands, and, sometimes, homey touches like hooks for hanging helmets. In the fancier buildings, porters and door attendants act as bike valets.

Of course, riders can store their bikes in their apartments, if there’s room. But “now when you’re spending a million dollars for a one-bedroom,” said Roberta Axelrod, the director of residential sales and marketing at Time Equities [a real estate agency], “no one wants a bike in there” propped against the wall.

And it's not just new buildings that are seeing the consequences of increased ridership as older buildings are converting underutilized areas into bike rooms. "As for new buildings, a zoning amendment passed in 2009 requires the provision of one bike space for every two units in structures of 10 apartments or more," adds Margolies. However, that's often a bare-bones requirement inadequate for larger units. 

If you have a building with two- and three-bedroom apartments, 100 units doesn’t mean 100 bikes,” said Matthew Baron, the president of Simon Baron Development. “It could be 300 or 400.” Consequently, there are waiting lists for many of the city’s bike rooms.

Would you like a bike with that unit?

"Many buildings are providing the bicycles themselves, acquiring their own fleets — emblazoned with the buildings’ names — for residents’ use," writes Margolies. Other buildings are offering bikes as closing gifts. She goes on to list these apartments, in addition to describing bike storage at new and existing apartments in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Pay-to-Park

But don't expect to park for free; these spaces often come at a cost. "The charges, which can come in the form of a monthly or annual fee, vary widely, from a token $10 per year to $10 to $100 per month," adds Margolies.