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Jersey City, NJ — Citi Bike Jersey City launched with a flourish On Monday, September 21st, 2015 with Mayor Steven M. Fulop joining Jay Walder, President & CEO of Motivate, funders and community supporters to cut the ribbon at the Citi Bike station in the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza, bringing the 350-bike, 35-station system online.

Citi Bike Jersey City is fully supported by sponsorship and other revenues, making it the only bike share system in a mid-size city to operate without public funding.  Citi is the Title Sponsor for the new system.  Four additional organizations – the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, SUEZ North America, CarePoint Health and Jersey City Medical Center–Barnabas Health have been named Founding Sponsors. An investment by Goldman Sachs will allow for the initial purchase of docking stations and bicycles.  Fully interoperable with New York Cityâ€s Citi Bike, the system allows those who commute or travel between the two cities to use their memberships in both independent systems.

“It’s not very often that a city gets a completely new public transit system, a new way to enjoy the outdoors and stay active, and a new link to New York all at once, but that’s what we have today with Citi Bike,” said Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop. “This is something that will connect every corner of the city.  We have bike stations in every ward.”

“Thanks to Mayor Fulopâ€s visionary leadership and the support of terrific sponsors, the Citi Bike program is now a seamless regional transportation network improving commutes on both sides of the Hudson,” said Jay Walder, President & CEO of Motivate. “The launch of the Citi Bike program in Jersey City shows that bike share has become a critical component of healthy, sustainable and convenient urban living in cities of all sizes.”

The new system advances Mayor Fulopâ€s goal of making Jersey City ‘Americaâ€s best mid-size cityâ€â€”providing a new, environmentally friendly, healthy and affordable 24/7 transportation option for the cityâ€s residents and visitors, and making the city more welcoming to cyclists overall. Jersey City has already added 22 miles of bike lanes to the street grid over the past two years alone.

The systemâ€s funders rallied around bike share in Jersey City, praising the new opportunities for commuting and recreation that it will make possible in New Jersey and New York.

“Citi Bike has become an iconic mobile landmark in New York City, and we are thrilled to help roll Citi Bike out to Jersey City residents and visitors,” said Elyssa Gray, Director of Brand and Advertising of Citi Cards at Citi.  “The Citi Bike program has produced enormous benefits— be they transportation, health or sustainability-related— and we are proud to join Mayor Fulop and Motivate to bring them to Jersey City.”

“As a Founding sponsor, the Horizon Foundation encourages city residents to embrace the Jersey City Bike Share program and pedal their way to better health,” said Minalkumar Patel, M.D.,  Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer for Horizon BCBSNJ.  A Hudson County resident who grew up in Jersey City, Dr. Patel added: “Cycling combines a fitness activity into a riderâ€s daily routine, offering the same cardiovascular benefits as other aerobic exercises, and supports a healthy lifestyle. ”

“Jersey City, under Mayor Fulopâ€s administration, has an established a reputation as a leader in “green” initiatives,” said Nadine Leslie, President of SUEZ Environmental Services. “SUEZ North America is excited to help this reputation by supporting Jersey City as a lead sponsor of the Citi Bike program in Jersey City.”

“We are proud to be a founding partner of Jersey City’s bike share program,” said CarePoint Health System CEO Dennis Kelly.  “Improving the health and quality of life of the population we serve is CarePoint Health’s core mission, and this program takes a huge step in that direction.”

“Having a Citi Bike station on the Jersey City Medical Center campus and one near my home in Jersey City will give me an healthy alternative means of transportation,” said Joe Scott, President & CEO of Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health. “At Barnabas Health we believe life is better healthy and I will encourage others to do the same when making appointments or as a method of commuting.   Our Citi Bike rental station is near Liberty State Park and the Light Rail and we expect it to be one of the busiest locations.”

“We are excited to see a new Citi Bike launch in Jersey City, allowing residents to travel between the two cities easily in an environmentally friendly way,” said Margaret Anadu, Managing Director in the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group.  “This expansion will not only increase access to affordable green transportation but will also create quality jobs and sustainable economic development.”

Jersey City residents can sign up for memberships at www.citibikejc.com. Pricing across New York and New Jersey are the same, with an annual membership cost of $149, discounted by $25 until the end of this month. Members are entitled to unlimited use of the system for individual bike trips of up to 45 minutes. Members using the Citi Bike bikes for longer periods will be charged a graduated fee. There are also options for day and weekly memberships, for those visiting Jersey City or trying the system for the first time.

Corporate memberships are also available. Any Jersey City employer that signs up by October 1st will be designated a charter member, with the opportunity to extend a 50% or 100% subsidy to every employee. Interested employers – and employees – can contact marketing@citibikejc.com for more information.

Several great local restaurants and cultural destinations will offer discounts to Citi Bike key holders through September 30th. ‘Kitchen at Grove’ will offer free coffee or tea on weekdays between 7:00am-10:00am, while ‘Mordi’s Food Truck’ and ‘Who’s Gluten Free’ will both offer 10 percent discounts.  Many more Jersey City deals will come online through the month, to encourage residents to sign up for the service and invite New York members to explore all that Jersey City has to offer on Citi Bike. For a complete list of participating businesses, please visit the Citi Bike Jersey City Tumblr page. 

Subsidized memberships of $60 per year will also be available— as they are in New York— for residents who meet certain income qualifications.  The average family with an annual income of less than $50,000 spends roughly 30 percent of their budget on transportation, statistics show. A $60 bike share subscription, Mayor Fulop believes, will provide families with affordable transportation.

The Citi Bike program now joins other regional bike share networks operated by Motivate including Hubway, Capital Bike Share and Bay Area Bike Share in providing a transportation network that serves residents across municipal boundaries with one single, seamless membership. Citi Bike in the New York / New Jersey area is the largest bike share program in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Citi Bike riders have taken over 21 million trips on the program in New York since it launched in May 2013.

About Motivate

Motivate is a global leader in bike share. A full-service bike share operator and technology innovator, Motivate works to re-envision how people experience and move around cities.  Motivate currently manages all of the largest bike share systems in the United States and many of the largest systems in the world, including Bay Area Bike Share (California Bay Area), Citi Bike (New York), Divvy (Chicago), CoGo Bike Share (Columbus, Ohio), Capital Bike Share (Washington, D.C.; Arlington and Alexandria, Va.; and Montgomery County, Md.), Hubway (Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline, Mass.), Pronto (Seattle), Bike Chattanooga (Tenn.), Bike Share Toronto and Melbourne Bike Share in Australia. Motivateâ€s newest system is Citi Bike Jersey City, N.J., that will be compatible with New York Cityâ€s Citi Bike program.

The post Citi Bike® Program Launches in Jersey City first appeared on River View Observer.

 

.On Sat, Sept. 20, from 11 am to 6 pm, Grove Street Plaza & Newark Avenue will be bustling with 125 local vendors; over 15 food and fashion trucks; live music performances; fun activities for kids, cool trinkets from local retailers, and art from area artists.  Itâ€s a little bit of everything that makes Historic Downtown Jersey City a very exciting place to be these days. The event is hosted by HDSID led by executive director Rachel Sieg.

“Basically the downtown businesses, artists, vendors, and food trucks all come out to enjoy Downtown Jersey City,” Sieg says. “Itâ€s our biggest event of the year. For one day, between 20-30,000 people come to Jersey City; people from Brooklyn, Newark, New York City, Hoboken. Weâ€re trying to get people to see that Jersey City is a great place to hang out, have dinner, go to art shows, and buy clothes. Thereâ€s so much to do down here. Its 20 minutes on the PATH train from New York, which makes it is easy to get here.”

The HDSID is a public/private partnership that brings together property and business owners to ensure they have an impact on Historic Downtown Jersey City neighborhoods and their development. HDSID works with local businesses, property owners and neighborhood associations, and City government, to promote Downtown Jersey City and improve the quality of life.

This yearâ€s participants in All About Downtown include Golden Grille, Hard Grove, L.I.T.M., Downtown Hardware, Capital One, TEDxJerseyCity, The BIG Straw, BCB Bank, Dominos, Union Republic, Roman Nose, Barcade, My Gym Hoboken, Morlees, Indiegrove, PNC Bank. Helenâ€s Pizzeria, CoolHaus, IndrediBalls, The Style Cruiser, Uber, Park and Sixth Comfort Food, Orale Mexican Kitchen, Left Bank Burger Bar, Pole Position Raceway, Zipcar, Dark Side of the MOO, Choc O Pain, BBQ @ Legal Beans, Goldman Sachs, Gymboree, WORD Bookstore and Two Boots Pizza.

Another Manâ€s Treasure vintage clothes; organic home-made ice cream from Milk Sugar Love; and unique jewelry and collectibles by Vera Vixenness of Union City will also be at the fair. This is the 3^rd year Vixenness will be selling her special jewelry designs and vintage clothes, and she fondly remembers her first year at the festival and how it became the launching pad she needed to start her own business.

“All About Downtown was the perfect place for me to test my product,” Vixenness says, “and it was very profitable. That first festival was successful for me; I got a solid brand.”

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Vixenness repurposes jewelry and vintage clothes she finds at estate sales and thrift shops.

“I specialize in bohemian aesthetic,” Vixenness says. “At All About Downtown Iâ€ll be selling vintage clothes, collectibles and repurposed jewelry like my rock and roll rosaries, and ‘native†jewelry made from bones and stones. Iâ€m going to have $5 and $10 racks of vintage clothes and $5 bins of cuffs and stuff.”

Fair-goers can find Vixenness†booth on Newark Ave, close to Grove Street. All About Downtown is great for entrepreneurs like Vixenness who “flies solo” and calls herself a “mobile boutique” because her business can pop up anywhere. At the fair, she also gets to reunite with friends.

“All About Downtown is a blast,” Vixenness says. “I love Jersey City and I get to see friends all day. Itâ€s a great time.”

If you go:

Sat, Sept 20, 11 am to 6 pm

All About Downtown Jersey City Street Fair

Grove Street Plaza & Newark Avenue

Jersey City

For more info, www.jcdowntown.org

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