SEPTEMBER 08, 2018

Despite a plethora of greenspace the Bronx is not the most outdoorsy of the borrows. Residents tend to stick to their homes and their cars – and for good reason. Compared to the funding the rest of the city’s parks and pavement receive, the Bronx’s bucket is subpar, and it shows. That’s why few Bronx residents were surprised when Citi Bikes launched in the borough this August and something was amiss. Rather than roll out its usual army of dockless bikes, the city’s public bicycle sharing system company only launched a small fleet.

“I think it’s because the Bronx isn’t very bike-able,” said Jerome Evans, 32, a lifelong Morrisania resident. “The streets are all uneven and jutted and stuff.”

Evans can’t remember the last time he rode a bike. But he knows he learned how.

“I learned how to ride a bike at my grandma’s in Alabama when I was like nine,” Evans said.

When Evans got back home to the Bronx he was eager to ride his bike, but his mom wouldn’t let him do so outside. He doesn’t disagree with her decision.

“People don’t know how to drive here,” Evans said. “If you’re trying to bike across the street and you’re not careful someone will flatten you out. They’d probably find a way to flatten you even if you’re on the sidewalk.”

So he biked up and down his apartment hallway.

“I drove many, many neighbors crazy,” Evans said.

Riding a bike is no easy task. Lots of New York City kids grow up not knowing how to ride a bike. City streets aren’t necessarily conducive to training wheels and no one ever taught them. Especially in the Bronx. That’s where Bike New York comes in.

Bike New York, a nonprofit organization, promotes bicycle riding and safety through education, public events, and collaboration with community and government organizations. According to Bike New York’s website, the initiative developed 14 Bike Education Centers throughout the five boroughs. Three of these centers are located in the Bronx.

A Bike Education Center is a place where people can go to learn all about bikes: how to fix them, how to ride them, how to pick the bike most suited to your needs and riding ability. Bike New York provides each participant with a bike and helmet free of charge.

41-year-old Simone Abrego has lived in the Bronx her entire life. She never learned how to ride a bike. But she made sure her kids did.

“All four of my kids took their classes last summer at Van Cortlandt,” Simone Abrego said. “The instructors were amazing. The kids were zooming around in no time.”

Van Cortlandt Park is home to just one Bike Education Center in the Bronx. The other two are located at Crotona Park and St. Mary’s Park.

The three Bronx Bike Education Centers account for 16 percent of the registration for all public classes at Bike Education Centers citywide, according to Rich Conroy, Director of Education at Bike New York. The last two summers, after-school youth programs were filled to capacity at all three locations with attendance totaling at 637.

[caption id="attachment_28117" align="alignnone" width="599"]Conroy provided the above chart summarizing Bronx Community Bike Education Center attendance compared to attendance at centers citywide. Bronx locations are highlighted.[/caption]

Children aren’t the only ones benefiting from the centers. According to statistics from the Bike New York website, 638 adults attended classes in 2017. Of course, youth are still the main pupils and both the 2017 spring and fall after school programs reached 266 youth while the summer program reached 428. Bronx locations accounted for 33 percent of after school and 28 percent of summer program participation.

“This spring we offered a school field trip program at select Bike Education Centers including all three Bronx locations,” Conroy said. “There were 27 field trips field trips at the Bronx locations, attended by 377 students.”

“I think the participation in the Bronx among our youth programs is very strong,” Conroy said. “Our youth programs at St. Mary’s Park fill up far more quickly than all the other locations citywide.”

In fact, the Bronx accounts for a substantial portion of the youth program participation across the 14 Bike Education Centers.

Talia Cruz is one of the adults who learned how to ride a bike with Bike New York at St. Mary’s

“I just never learned growing up,” Cruz said. “I’m 26 years old and I’m finally learning now. All my cousins living out in the country ride bikes. But I grew up here and my parents always told me it wasn’t safe.”

“I loved the instructors,” Cruz said.