Did anyone notice all the publicity, irony and major hypocrisy around adorable actress Quvenzhané Wallis riding a Citi Bike through Harlem on the set of ‘Annie’ this past week? When I saw several news clips stating how the character of ‘Annie’ was spotted in Harlem riding a Citi Bike, all I could think about was…wow, how interesting that the Citi Bike Share is being used on the set of the remake of ‘Annie’ now filming in Harlem, but none of us who live in the Village of Harlem actually get to use the bike share program because Citibank has not made it available to those of us who live uptown. What a double standard by Citibank?
It’s obvious that Citibank paid the big time producers of the remake of ‘Annie’ for product placement. I guess Citi Bike Share wants to give the appearance in this upcoming movie that all poor little black children get to use their bikes. Bull! Do the producers of this movie know Harlem residents do not get to use this bike share?
At this time, no child who lives in Harlem or friends or family get to use Citi Bike Share. In my view, this is hypocrisy at its best. There is not one Citi Bike location in Harlem to date. And there’s been no explanation (that I can find) for why the Citi Bike Share has not been made available to Manhattanites who live Uptown! Talk about a hard-knock-life. Harlem residents are the real life orphan-Annie’s when it comes to the Citi Bike Share program. I guess we are not good enough to work on our carbon foot print. But hey in a movie, lets fool everyone else that this might be happening in Harlem.
All I can say is, if the Citi Bike Share program is good enough to use on the movie set of ‘Annie’ currently filming in Harlem, then Citi Bike Share is darn well good enough to implement and use for the people living in Harlem. Hope Citi Bike Share comes to their senses and changes their locations. Hypocrisy will get you no where.
HarlemGal Inc. 
I know! I agree, I am writing letters to them. You should write to them too! And send them this post. Hopefully they will hear our cry.
I don’t think we have a complaint to be made (yet) since the program only extends to 59th Street so far. They are not singling out Harlem to leave out….no bikes on the upper east side either….we’re in good company.
Nope there are Citibike stations all over hipster nabes in Brooklyn, so the 59th Street cut off is not valid.
http://citibikenyc.com/stations
Didn’t realize there was a huge desire for Citi Bike in Harlem? They’re a pain in the butt in Midtown. My tenants loathe them as they’re taking up curb space for their partner’s personal drivers. SMH
Thank you for all the comments. My overall point in this blog post is that if the bike share is good enough for filming in Harlem, its good enough for ALL people to use in Harlem for real-and that the Citi Bike Share is participating in a double standard. Some followers/friends/people try equate fighting for or standing up for Harlem as a race thing. When an opportunity arises to point out a double standard and jumpstart a conversation, I say why not!
CitiBike is supposed to roll out in 3 phases. The first phase which is currently in place is below 59th Street (in Manhattan). Phase 2 should include areas such as Harlem and Phase 3 will be all of New York. I do not know the timing of these rollouts or the specific locations but that was the general plan. I imagine with thousands of bikes coming to NYC that a phased approach would make sense to see what works and what doesn’t. I live in Harlem and wish the Phase 1 rollout was larger than being above 59th. That said, I typically love this blog but this post (while it has generated discussion) seems a bit too righteous.
People are never happy. I do hope the docking stations are installed in front of the homes of all those who are requesting citibikes. I have no desire to have the docking stations in front of my home.
If the docking stations are your biggest worry as a Harlemite, you’re in great shape. If anything is a impediment its all the double parking that goes on around here but nobody complains about that.
The Citibikes have broven themselves to be both convenient and useful for the public in general.
Lord forbid somebody have to walk a block out of thier way for any reason.
Before investing in Bike Share for the entire city, Citi has to test how profitable the program will be by concentration on the most populated areas first. If there’s a market, they will expand to all neighborhoods. If the business is a dud, they wont expand and probably fold up shop. So unless we have a couple dozen million dollars to risk by starting Bike Share in “the Village of Harlem”, I suggest we be patient.
Citi Bike will eventually come to Harlem. It’s a great amenity and in demand citywide. I wish I could use it now in order to expedite my cross town trips uptown or into the Bronx. If you do a little research, you’ll notice these systems roll out in phases.
Not a big deal. citibike puts a 100 dollar hold on your card when you take a bike and I don’t know about your bank but a hold on your acct can take up to 2 wks to come off. Not worth it for an afternoon of biking. Go buy your own bike and bike whenever you please
I like that this blog called out the Citi Bike Share. Why aren’t other blogs doing this?
Yes, some have noted that the bike program will eventually come to Harlem, like other parts of the City. Why don’t we all hold our breath with that thinking? And if that’s the case about the phases, why not hold back their product placement in the Annie movie that clearly is happening in a community that is not currently being served by Citi Bike Share? Why not focus on making it available in places like Harlem, The Bronx, etc first? Where are the priorities of this company? Being in a movie or actually helping the citizens of NYC use the program first?
And kudos to this blog for finally getting some balls and blogging about a risky topic. I get sick and tired of all the rah,rah about Harlem. I want some substance. HarlemGal finally delivers…
I love how Citibank puts their branches up here in Harlem – but not their bikes. They want our business but they don’t consider us part of their community.