Extended Bike Co-Op Will Help People Needing Transportation

Riverhead NY

09 February, 2021

7:54 PM

Description

EAST END, NY — It's good news for cyclists on the East End as the Suffolk County Legislature voted to expand a bike co-op to eastern Long Island. According to Suffolk County Legislature Deputy Presiding Officer Kara Hahn, a 20-year lease agreement was green-lighted allowing Brookhaven Bicycle Inc. to use two Suffolk County facilities, the Raymond P. Corwin Pine Barrens Train Center and the former Methodist Church of Manorville, located at Robert Cushman Murphy County Park in Manorville. Both a bicycle repair facility and bicycle distribution center will be created to help people in need of transportation and to offer bicycle educational programs, county officials said. Brookhaven Bicycle Inc., also known as the Brookhaven Bicycle Co-op, is a Saint James based volunteer organization that offers the public free and low-cost access to transportation options by repairing and repurposing unwanted bicycles for people in need, Hahn said. The organization also provides repair services and cycling safety classes for the public. Brookhaven Bicycle will act as custodian of the Raymond P. Corwin Pine Barrens Trail Center by repairing and maintaining the building and providing trail maps and information to the public, Hann added. Brookhaven Bicycle, formed in 2019, began planning an eastward expansion last summer with an eye toward being closer to the people it aims to serve and to park trails. "When I learned the bicycle co-op needed assistance peddling eastward, I knew Suffolk County could be a perfect partner in this goal," said Hahn. "By putting Brookhaven Bicycle Inc. together with the County Parks Department we are able to put the expansion of bicycling services on the East End into high gear and accelerate this organization's mission to alleviate transportation struggles and promote bicycles across our region." County Executive Steve Bellone is expected to sign the legislation authorizing the lease agreement within the next two weeks, she said. "We are excited to partner with Suffolk County in this expansion of the bike co-op and its mission. This new space from the county multiplies any good we can do," said Brookhaven Bicycle Co-op founder Greg Ferguson. "I was pleased to support this legislation, which allows a responsible party to utilize and help maintain the Pine Barrens Trail Center and the Methodist Church of Manorville, which in recent times, have been underutilized. This agreement will benefit not only the county and the group taking on the responsibility, Brookhaven Bicycle, but the residents of Suffolk County as well," said Suffolk County Legislature Al Krupski, whose district is home to both structures. "I believe having a consistent presence at trail center, and at the church, will encourage more people to hike this wonderful park." The Robert Cushman Murphy County Park is a 2,200-acre preserve that offers boating, hiking, and other recreational activities.