2023 grant recipients

The Citi Bike Equity & Community Engagement Team is proud to announce the recipients of the 2023 Community Grants Program. This year, grant funding will be awarded to eight community non-profit organizations across Harlem, the Lower East Side, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Each recipient has demonstrated their commitment to supporting community-led efforts to expand access to bikeshare and increase transportation equity.

Building upon years of community engagement initiatives, Citi Bike launched a Community Grants Program through our sponsorship with Healthfirst with an overarching goal of addressing health and transportation inequities. The program seeks to achieve this goal through initiatives and activities that increase access to bikeshare in low-income neighborhoods and underrepresented communities throughout New York City.

Grant recipients develop goals and programming with the aim of growing enrollment in the Reduced Fare Bike Share Program (RFBS) presented by Healthfirst, engaging people of all ages in building a lifelong relationship with bikeshare, improving health outcomes in traditionally marginalized communities through cycling, and leveraging bikeshare as a tool to champion equitable access to safer streets and green space in urban areas.

1. Bed Stuy Clothes Swap (Bed Stuy): The focus of Bed Stuy Clothes Swap is building collaborative bridges through bike sharing, alternative circular clothing options, and anti-displacement organizing. This grant will facilitate the removal of barriers to clean energy and transportation, helping the organization make clothing swaps more carbon neutral. Bed Stuy Clothes Swap plans to curate community discussions, promote accessing clothing swap sessions via Citi Bike, and host a bike fashion show.

2. East Flatbush CDC (East Flatbush): East Flatbush CDC aims to empower and improve the quality of life for individuals and families in the East Flatbush Community by offering community bike rides. These rides will address prevention, reduction, and development of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. With a focus on health as one of its social services, East Flatbush CDC will also promote bicycle safety training and community resource fairs.

3. Woodside On The Move (Woodside): Woodside On The Move is committed to making Queens and Woodside a better place to live, learn, and do business. Through the grant, the organization aims to enroll at least 300 new RFBS members from Western Queens, including residents of the Woodside Houses, Ravenswood Houses, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights. WOTM will host community festivals, incorporate neighborhood canvassing and service-based outreach in their efforts to enroll residents in RFBS.

4. Arthur Ashe Institute (East Flatbush): The Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH) is a Brooklyn-based community health empowerment and education institute with a mission to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes for underserved groups. AAIUH will use bike share to engage multigenerational, low-income and underrepresented communities of Flatbush, Brooklyn, in its current programming to promote mental health and wellness. With community bike rides planned around the theme of increasing access to mental health education and resources, the Institute will leverage its existing relationships with barbershops and salons to organize and promote these events.

5. El Barrio Bikes (Harlem/ South Bronx): El Barrio Bikes promotes inclusivity and works to eliminate barriers to biking in East and Central Harlem. Through a series of Sip & Cycle rides, the organization aims to improve Harlem's network of Ride Leaders, provide opportunities for Harlem and South Bronx community members to stay involved in the neighborhood, and feature local minority-owned small businesses. Rides planned through the grant will help residents develop a sustained relationship with the Citi Bike program and highlight the healthy and delicious beverage offerings of local small businesses.

6. Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice (South Bronx): The mission of Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice (YMPJ) is to rebuild and improve critically marginalized neighborhoods of the South Bronx through community-driven redevelopment initiatives that prioritize environmental justice, economic opportunity, community health, safe pedestrian routes, and green space for parks and recreation. YMPJ will host community bike rides with the goals of (1) improving over 100 residents’ understanding and knowledge of pedestrian and bike routes, (2) improving residents' access to local parks and other key open green space locations, and, (3) increasing resident’s knowledge of community-driven redevelopment projects in their neighborhoods that have the potential to benefit their health and economic well-being.

7. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council (Two Bridges/Chinatown, Lower East Side): Two Bridges Neighborhood Council (TBNC) works to create equitable housing and celebrate cultural diversity through neighborhood-based programs. TBNC also works with local residents, businesses, entrepreneurs and leaders to stimulate and maintain economic vitality. Through this grant, TBNC will conduct weekly outreach to enroll at least 100 residents in Reduced Fare Bike Share. By providing information about the Citi Bike program through partnerships with existing local food pantries, community-based organizations, and schools. TBNC will aim to engage hard-to-reach residents such as recently arrived immigrants and seniors. TBNC will utilize NYC's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) to provide opportunities for youth workers to lead and plan weekly outreach efforts in grant programming.

8. BronxWorks (Bronx): BronxWorks assists individuals and families in improving their financial and social well-being by providing a range of social services. Their mission to break the cycle of poverty and achieve long-term improvement and revitalization for the communities of the Bronx is central to their planned community rides. Through a target audience of both BronxWorks community members and staff, these bike rides will promote the use of community green spaces and demonstrate safe biking on Citi Bike bicycles in the Crotona Neighborhood.

As Citi Bike continues to expand our service area, community collaboration and expertise remain critical to the program’s success. Learn more about all of Citi Bike’s community programs here.