It was another thrilling episode of Brooklyn Paper Radio as hosts Gersh Kuntzman of the New York Daily News and Brooklyn Paper editor-in-chief Vince DiMiceli were joined by Politico reporter Dana Rubinstein, whose ground-breaking reporting on CitiBikes in New York City has revealed many things to many readers and, specifically, Gersh Kuntzman.
“You know, I did not know that CitiBike had to pay for the space all its docking stations it takes up,” Kuntzman said. “Until I read about it in a story by Rubinstein.”
But Rubinstein, a former Brooklyn Paper reporter, noted that others had written that, and Gersh missed it.
“The big news is it is expanding to Staten Island and the Bronx,” she pointed out.
DiMiceli wondered if the service pays the city only for the spaces on metered streets, a question Rubinstein said she would look into.
“I that is why I am a good editor,” DiMiceli said. “Because that is the first question I would have asked.”
It was agreed upon by the talkers that the reason for the proposed expansion is the threat of competition by so-called “dock-less” bike rental services — Uber-like services that promise to rent bikes without having to build a place to house them when they are not being used — looking to move into the city, a move that would make it more difficult for CitiBike to turn a profit.
“So it is the threat of competition that is driving this change,” DiMiceli pointed out.
Also on the show, the boys unveiled a new segment — “Johnny on the Spot” — during which they asked millennial producer Johnny (or Jimmy, or whatever his name is) what was going on in the news. Alas, he was unsure.
Finally, the boys previewed Johnny’s new show on CNG Radio, “The Johnny and Hersh Show,” an obvious rip-off of the original title of Brooklyn Paper Radio, “The Vinny and Gersh Show.”
“It took me a while to find a person named ‘Hersh’ to make this happen,” the producer said.
That show will debut later this month or early next month.
Brooklyn Paper radio is recorded and podcast live every Tuesday at 10 am — for your convenience — from our studio in America’s Downtown and can be found, as always, right here on Brook
