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Plaza Hotel sues Citi Bike for ‘eyesore’ bike rack – Metro US

Plaza Hotel sues Citi Bike for ‘eyesore’ bike rack

Credit: Metro File Photo. The Plaza Hotel is suing Citibank and the city, saying the bike rack in front of the landmark building is causing traffic jams. Credit: Metro file photo

The Plaza Hotel says the Citi Bike rack in front of its building is an “eyesore” and has filed a lawsuit to have it removed.

The block-long bike rack that sits across from the hotel along Grand Army Plaza causes traffic jams and attracts litter, according to a lawsuit filed Friday naming the city’s Department of Transportation and Citibank.

“The bike rack is in place between two of New York’s most iconic landmarks,” said Plaza Hotel lawyer Steven Sladkus, adding, “The decision to put the racks there was, among other things, capricious and disrespectful.”

A suit also says the four-lane drive across from the hotel’s main entrance has been reduced to three lanes, frequently clogging traffic.

Sladkus suggested that the city violated its own laws by not conducting a environmental-impact review before installing the racks, noting there were other viable alternatives along Central Park.

The suit, which only asks that the racks be removed somewhere else, also states that the city should not have allowed advertising to be displayed on the bright blue bikes.

A spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department had not seen the lawsuit Monday morning.

“While we haven’t seen the papers yet, we are confident that the installation was proper,” the spokeswoman said.