Bike Share Start Up Scraps Plans for Rockaways Pilot

San Francisco-based bike share start-up Spin holds a demonstration of it's dock-free bikes. The company's pilot program launch in the Rockaways was rejected by the city.

A San Francisco-based company called Spin was planning to deploy 150 bikes along the boardwalk in the Rockaways on Monday. But after the city sent them a cease-and-desist letter last Friday, the company called it off.

What the letter didn't include was the fact that the city has a "revenue contract" with Citibike, giving the company exclusivity for its first two phases (which include Manhattan, Brooklyn and parts of Queens — but not the Rockaways) and is in talks to expand to all five boroughs.

There currently are no Citibikes in the Rockaways. 

On Monday, standing with Spin representatives at Rockaway Beach, Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich accused the city of depriving the area of bike sharing.

"You would think it's a no-brainer, it doesn't cost tax payers a dime," Ulrich said. 

Leaders from Spin said they're still hoping to get permission to launch, legally.

Lorraine Quinn, who lives in the Rockaways, questioned Spin's business model of leaving bikes in strategic, public locations, including bike racks. Those who want to use Spin bikes use an app to unlock them.

"The bike lanes here are very small, it's already extremely crowded," Quinn said. "If you have a spot for 15 bikes and then people take bikes from other areas and bring back 30 bikes, where is that going? That's going to affect our whole area, and the look, and maybe our access to the beach."