Bay Ridge Businesses Are Been Undercut by GetAround (Supported by Andrew Gounardes)
In August 2016, I wrote about Cars2Go being allowed to drop their minicars all over our neighborhood. (See here)
Each blue dot on the map below represented a Zipcar on our streets waiting to be rented. It was terrible!
Back then, it was the then Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce head, Carlo Scissura and the Brooklyn Borough President who pushed for Cars2Go in Brooklyn.
Cars2Go didn’t pay for using NYC’s streets. Residents in every neighborhood wondered, “Why the heck are these little cars parked all over the place?” By 2019, Cars2Go left NY, merged with another company and went out of business in North America. (Info)
Over the years, Zipcar, Enterprise and other car rental companies settled in our neighborhoods and offered hourly car rentals, as well as long-term. But this time it was done right – they paid for their parking.
A Subaru Crosstrek could be rented for $15.15 an hour or $96.25 for the day.
Zipcar has two locations in our area.
a) 9109 – 4th Avenue – cars are $15 an hour.
Enterprise also has two locations in our area – their cars are around $20 an hour (but they have a lot more choices and luxury ones too).
Most of Enterprises cars are on 88th Street in Century’s old Parking Spot.
Why in 2023 is another Cars2Go type company in our community?
Why didn’t Justin Brannan and Andrew Gounardes speak out for the existing carshare companies in our neighborhood?
Andrew Gounardes never spoke to the community about his support for GetAway Car Sharing. Even when Community Board 10 asked, “Why are we only hearing a presentation from one company?”
How is it legal for elected leaders to support a private business like this? Since GetAway has no fees for parking or insurance (or anything else like a regular business does), GetAway rents their cars for less than half of our established car share places. That is undercutting their businesses.
Strangely, the existing Zipcar and Enterprise locations are not listed on pages 2-4 of locations for existing car sharing for NYC, but I called them and they are in business! (See here)
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Hugs,
marlene
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