Mother Of Teen In Citi Bike Video Speaks Out: 'No One Bothered To Ask Him What Happened'

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://newsone.com/4592993/sarah-jane-comrie-update-citi-bike-teens-mother-speaks-out/

Michael said after resting in Harlem for a bit, the boys continued riding into the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They grabbed frozen yogurt and then headed to the Citi Bike docking station at 1st Avenue and E 30th Street near Bellevue Hospital in the Kip’s Bay neighborhood. They docked their bikes at 7:19 p.m. and sat there to rest.

Michael insisted he and his friends never left the bikes unattended. They don’t leave the bikes. Michael said all four of his friends also have the same Citi Bike Reduced Fare membership, so they docked the bikes to stop the timers from going over 45 minutes.

Four of the boys were sitting on their bikes as they rested, but Michael was standing next to his with his hands on the handlebars.

They were there for a few minutes when he said Sarah Jane Comrie approached their group. She initially asked one of Michael’s friends if she could take the bike he was resting on. He politely declined, informing her that they were going to be leaving shortly and using the bikes again.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

2. DUers seem split on this.

I would assume most of them aren't racist.

[BlackSkimmer]

27. Yes, a shame when someone thinks it's ok to call DUers these kind of names.

Things have changed so much around here since back in the day.

There were always dust-ups, but I don't remember DUers calling others the same names they would call RWers.

[Warpy]

63. I'm a white woman and I don't need to be defended by chivalrous bigots who don't listen

Yet some of them appear to think that is their main function in life.

I didn't find the above post divisive, at all.

Unless punches are being thrown, butt out. If punches are being thrown, call the cops, then video. That's what they're for.

[canuckledragger]

3. Yup...and in another DU post, you will be attacked...

...If you suggest that she's racist in any way.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

4. What evidence is there that this is anything other than a dispute over dibs on a bike?

This seems like an everyday dispute that got out of hand due to the inflammatory nature of social media.

Just because the disagreement is between a black male and a white female doesn't mean that it has anything to do with race or sex.

The glee with which people like to jump on total strangers, whose lives they know almost nothing about, it really unsettling.

[LisaL]

11. It wasn't his bike when she rented it, and he literally proves it by providing his receipts.

He returned it five minutes before she rented it.

[BlackSkimmer]

16. Thank you.

No doubt your post will make no difference to those who've chosen that she couldn't POSSIBLY be in the right.

Because.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

31. I generally agree with you.

But I don't know the unwritten rules of citibike rentals in NYC. Maybe if you're sitting on a bike chatting with a friend before riding off, then it's considered rude for someone else to rent it. Or maybe it's considered rude to sit on a bike without renting it. Who's in the right depends on one's idea of courtesy.

Like if you're at a library, and you have some books you want to check out, and then go look for another one, can someone take the ones you've set down? You haven't checked them out yet, so they don't belong to you. But you clearly had intent to check them out.

What does seem reasonable to me is to not jump to conclusions and to call one person in the argument racist and to try to ruin their lives, and then compound that by calling anyone who agrees with that person racist as well. The simplest explanation here is that this is an everyday dispute that happens a lot in life. Whatever happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt?

[LisaL]

33. The proper library analogy would be-

if you check out the book and then return it, should other people be able to check it out, or is it still yours?
Once you return the book (or the bike) it's not longer yours.
He rented the bike, he returned (docked) the bike. It was no longer his.
Other people should have been able to rent the bike.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

35. Like I said...

I don't live in New York and I don't ride Citibikes. I'm not trying to make a perfect analogy-- just saying there are ambiguous social situations in which both people might each think they're in the right. If you know for sure that one side is right here, then I'll accept that.

All I want to say is that whoever was right, the reaction on social media demonizing this woman was absolutely wrong. I've seen the most horrible comparisons and accusations made against her, and it seems to me the evidence doesn't support it at all.

[LisaL]

36. Social media is running amok.

NT

[obamanut2012]

38. I live in a major CA metro area and use the lime bikes and scooters

LisaL's analogy re: library books is correct, although the nurse would have been charged 1.2k.

[BlackSkimmer]

51. I've used Citibikes numerous times, many times actually.

When the bike is docked, you will immediately see that on your phone, same when you check it out. Once it is docked, it is for rent again immediately.

I have never seen anyone sitting on a docked bike, and I doubt Citibike would approve of that.

You can't "save" a docked bike like a child at home with a favorite seat. I remember my sister and I saying, "This seat is saved" when we were children lol, but even then we were on very shaky ground.

[BlackSkimmer]

47. Bingo.

Perfect analogy.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

73. another point of view

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/13rf4k5/the_bike_debacle_continues/

[MarineCombatEngineer]

15. LOL.

Nuff said.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

23. Well, maybe, just maybe, the pushback is justified because post like yours are pure bullshit.

You think maybe that's it?

[BlackSkimmer]

49. What an excellent question.

By George, I think you've got it!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

54. Thank you, thank you,

I'll be here all week, don't forget to tip your servers generously.

[BlackSkimmer]

55. Lol!

Of course, of course.

Keep up the good work!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Horrifying and unsurprising.

[LisaL]

10. What's horrifying are the people who can't add 2 and 2.

He returned the bike five minutes before she rented it. His own receipt proves the bike was not on his account when she rented it, despite his claims to the contrary in the video.

[LisaL]

7. He returned the bike five minutes before she rented it.

His own receipt literally proves her story. Bike was not on his account when she rented it.
Once you dock the bike, it's no longer yours.
Other people are free to rent it. It certainly wasn't on his account at the time she rented it.

[Brenda]

19. Wow, one of DU's most prolific posters says this.

Says a lot about DU. White woman = bad, always in situation with black males.

[Dr. Strange]

21. More ironically...

says it about some black DUers.

#BelieveAllWomenUnlessThey'reWhite

[Brenda]

25. Nevilledog

Says what? Not sure what you mean.

Glad to see it's post removed.

[obamanut2012]

46. Who was it?

[Zeitghost]

6. Even if true,

It's not his bike. If he docked it to stop incurring fees, he has relinquished control and it is open to rent for others.

[LisaL]

8. He has a receipt showing that he docked the bike at 7:19.

She has a receipt showing she rented the bike at 7:24. Thus when he and his friends claim in the video the bike is on his account, that's false.
His own receipt proves it.

[maxsolomon]

9. Stop injecting facts into this controversy

Don't you know this woman must be ostracized from society?

[BlackSkimmer]

17. Boom.

Yep.

[obamanut2012]

39. Correct! As a user of Lime bikes

The bike is no longer yours, and he had lots of other ones to re-rent.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

12. It doesn't matter

If he had been using it before - once he docked it, it wasn’t his to keep.

It’s not the woman’s fault that he apparently doesn’t understand how the bike rental system works.

[LisaL]

13. He seems to understand it pretty well.

As he claims he docked it to avoid extra charges for keeping the bike over 45 minutes.
So presumably he should be able to figure out once he docked the bike it's no longer his and other people are free to rent it.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

14. Fair point n/t

[yardwork]

56. Isn't the point of the 45 minute rental to share the bikes?

From what I understand, you're not supposed to keep the bike for hours. They're supposed to be turned over to new riders every 45 minutes.

[obamanut2012]

61. Yup, and you incur sharpish OT fees over 45 minutes

1.2k charge if not returned within a certain window.

[Sympthsical]

18. So the mother confirms her son was in the wrong

I think we've officially reached the point where reflexively villainizing white women on social media isn't very fun anymore. When it was super racist crazy affluent people, sure, have at.

But it has clearly gone much farther and seeped into the culture that it's ok to direct this ire and hostility (and threats and doxxing and trying to get someone fired) purely on racial perceptions.

This stuff isn't ok.

Do better.

Edit: Also "No one tried to talk to my son." Oh, please. People have been asking that question all damn week, why no one's contacting the kids involved. So nope right on out of here with that.

[obamanut2012]

40. I said when this "Karen" garbage started this would happen

It very quickly started being used to shame and silence women.

[Sympthsical]

74. You were right, I was wrong

I figured it was fine as long as it was directed at people who were acting like colossal assholes.

But clearly it has gone much, much farther than that, where some find it socially acceptable to be racistly and sexistly hostile to white women in general.

I probably should've known better, social media being what it is these days.

[BlackSkimmer]

57. I saw the incident compared to the Emmett Till tragedy.

The hyperbole lately has reached a tipping point.

[yardwork]

71. That's like MTG comparing herself to victims of the Holocaust.

It's a disgraceful analogy, and I've seen it right here on DU.

[yardwork]

58. If the media didn't bother to interview the kids, that's on them.

I've said before that the media effed this up. They turned a NYC squabble over a bike into a big racial incident, based on lazy reporting.

I'd still like to know why the kids recorded this.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

66. .....

I'd still like to know why the kids recorded this.

I think that your earlier guesses are correct, this was a stupid Tik Tok prank that went viral and badly backfired on them because of the video, however, it has thrown this poor woman's life into turmoil because of their stupidity and I just can't wrap my head around the very few here on DU, and you know who you are, that are refusing to admit they are wrong and are doubling down on the bullshit that she is a racist or over reacted.

I swear to god, this fucking place sometimes.

[Chautauquas]

20. Does the contract end when you dock the bike?

If he docked it and that ended his time period for using it then it was available for the next user? If I dock a bike but continue to sit on it because I plan to pay to use it again am I acting in accordance with the rules?

[LisaL]

22. Yes, absolutely.

Once the bike its docked it was no longer on his account and other people were free to rent it.
Or at least they should be free to rent it.
He docked the bike five minutes before she rented it.
Obviously it's not "his bike' and it's not on "his account" when she was sitting on it in the video with the males surrounding her and making these claims. It's her bike since she rented it at 7:24.

[Chautauquas]

24. Then I agree with you

Once it was docked it became available for the next person to rent it. I also think it's wrong to continue to sit on a bike once it's been docked, in an effort to keep control of it and prevent someone else from being able to rent it. You dock it and you're no longer in control of the bike.Want to rent it again? Do what everybody else does and take your chances at finding one available.

[LisaL]

26. I sincerely doubt he was sitting on the bike when she rented it.

She wouldn't have been able to get onto the bike if he was sitting on it.
How would she get him off?
Five minutes has passed since he docked the bike before she rented it.

[obamanut2012]

50. He hasn't, he was sitting nearby

Then grabbed the handlebars.

[Zeitghost]

29. No

And in fact you would be acting to try and skirt the rules.

In order to keep bikes available, users pay for any time the bike is not docked and there is a premium for time after 45 min. The young males docked the bikes in order to grab a snack and reset their 45 min timer. In the 5 minutes after that occurred the woman in the video rented the bike.

Most people would have chalked it up to first come, first served and waited for another bike. Others would have gladly given up the bike they planned to use for a pregnant hospital worker coming off a long shift who wanted to get home. But some apparently think the correct course of action is to harass the woman, post a video of it intended to portray her as the one in the wrong to the internet and call her a racist.

I know which person my mother raised me to be...

[obamanut2012]

43. Yes, it's like returning a rental car

[WhiskeyGrinder]

28. I see a lot of letter-vs-spirit of the law arguments here.

Bet no one plugs meters, either.

[Sympthsical]

30. You see a lot of people calling out racism

Rightfully so.

If anyone is surprised, perhaps it's because they grew too comfortable with expressing it when they shouldn't have.

The good times weren't going to last forever.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. Oh hard agree. And letter vs spirit upholds it.

[Jedi Guy]

41. I really don't think Sympthsical is saying what you think he said.

In fact, I'm certain of it.

[Dr. Strange]

48. Seems fair though.

If we're going to say she "stole" the bike, then that's a fair argument to have. Was she in fact stealing, whether by the letter or by the spirit of the law?

[ismnotwasm]

34. Wow. She's an even bigger asshole than I thought

This woman went and got a very effective PR firm, so she must have known.

[Dr. Strange]

42. No kidding.

How in the hell did this firm manage to get the kid's sister AND mother to admit that he didn't have the bike checked out?

In fact, I seriously question if these two individuals really are the mother and sister. I wonder if the PR firm just hired a couple of actors.

[obamanut2012]

44. You just cannot admit you are wrong

Wow.

[tritsofme]

52. lol, wow....

[xmas74]

62. It's not a PR firm.

She obtained an employment attorney to fight her suspension.
Anyone who has ever been through a suspension, especially in certain fields would get an attorney unless they have union representation.

I'm not here to argue about what happened. I don't know and I don't think we'll ever know the full story. The only thing I'm pointing out is that it's an employment attorney, not a PR onslaught and it was a smart move.

[brooklynite]

37. This gives me the information to resolve the issue -- in favor of the woman

I have had a Citibike account for more than five years. Here is how the mechanics work.

First: you access the system in one of three ways: a pre-paid annual pass, a daily pass, or a single trip ticket. If you have a pass you choose any bike and unlock it with either a key, a QR scan or a 3 digit code. The rental is good for 30 (daily) or 45 (annual) minutes. You must dock the bike at a bike station before that time or incur penalties. If you have a single trip ticket, you are assigned an available bike from the dock (each has a six-digit serial number).

Second: When you time is up, you dock the bike and (if you have a pass) wait 2 minutes before taking out another. Many people will then re-unlock the bike they previously used, based on the seating configuration, gear system, storage basket etc. However, while USERS may consider the bike "theirs", the CITIBIKE COMPUTER does not. As far as it is concerned, the bike has been returned and is available for a new rental.

The boys were using a pass and docked their bikes adjacent to Bellvue Hospital. THEY considered the bikes theirs to use for a continuing trip. HOWEVER the CITIBIKE COMPUTER considered the bikes available and assigned one to the woman when she paid for a single trip ticket. There was no way at that point she could change the assigned bike, and I suspect that if the boy riding it attempted to check it out again, it would have been locked out.

[obamanut2012]

45. Yup

I've had a Lime account, and same.

[phylny]

53. There was no excuse for them to surround her, record her,

and make her life hell.

Thank you for providing this information.

[yardwork]

68. In other words, the kids were trying to hoard the bikes.

Another person came along - who had just gotten off work and wanted to go home - and the computer assigned her to a bike.

She got on the bike, at which point the young man tries to retain the bike, but it's not his to use at that point.

And she's the asshole? I don't think so.

[pinkstarburst]

75. good post

[localroger]

59. I am amazed that anyone is defending the boys in this

This is Renting Things 101. When the rental ends, the thing is no longer yours. Crying "dibs" is not allowed either by the computer or the general rules of such things. If you want the dibs, you pay the penalty for keeping the bike beyond the 45 minute limit. Period. Surrounding and recording her for the "crime" of "taking" "their" bike is assault. On her part, she was in total compliance with the rules. The bike was available, the computer assigned it to her when she asked it for a bike, and at that point it was her bike for 45 minutes. End of argument.

[Dr. Strange]

64. I'll defend them a little.

They're kids. They were trying to game the system. I get it. Ultimately this was a minor spat between people and not worthy of national attention. It really isn't that big of a deal.

What made it a big deal was the absurd virtue signalling that followed, trying to get her fired, doxxing her, sending death threats, telling people to contact the CEO of the hospital where she works. It was nuts.

The Young Turks has had quite a whiplash, with John Iadarola and Emma Vigeland suggesting that Comrie was drunk and racist, and Rashad Richey trying to doxx her and her boss and then straight-up deleting the video when he realized how badly he fucked up, all the way to Ana Kasparian fighting back, striking out at the whole Karen nonsense. It's been quite a scene.

[localroger]

67. You are right in that it was blown way the eff out of proportion

There is no reason any of us should even be talking about this. But here we are. The boys were trying to game the system, the girl was entirely within her rights to ask for what she had already paid for, and what they did to her was assault even before the media made it five orders of magnitude worse by broadcasting it everywhere and doxxing her. Inasmuch as there is any fair enforcement of laws it should have been handled by the boys being hauled in and given a talking-to and if they didn't respond properly, a ticket or a summons.

[yardwork]

69. I agree with your assessment, except that the kids recorded and uploaded the incident.

Why? It seems like the kids were trying to make a big deal out of this. Were they pranking her to get likes on TikTok?

I agree that the media response has been outrageous.

[Renew Deal]

60. This is an ordinary community dispute that turned into a story when the cameras came out.

Last edited Thu May 25, 2023, 09:43 PM - Edit history (1)

It’s a forgettable incident that everyone could have walked away from if people kept the phone in their pockets.

[yardwork]

70. The woman who was wronged did walk away.

She was distressed, but when the kid pushed her bike back into the dock, ending her rental, she walked away and rented another bike.

The kid got what he wanted. He got the bike back, so who uploaded the video, and why?

The kids weren't harmed at all, despite gaming the system and intimidating another rider. On what planet are they the victims?

This is outrageous.

[Renew Deal]

72. I don't think I made my point clearly

My point is that they are both victims of social media. This sounds like a fairly ordinary dispute that they would have forgotten about. Recording it and putting it on social media forced her to hire a lawyer and the guy to have his family make statements. It's too much for something so minor.

[yardwork]

76. Who put it on the internet?

Why did the kids film it? Why did they upload it? Why are the kid's mother and sister doubling down on shifting the blame?

[Renew Deal]

77. It seems like everyone records everything these days.

But why upload it? Probably because they thought they caught someone behaving badly and the chance to go viral.

Doubling down is the easy question. That's what people do in these situations.

[NowISeetheLight]

65. Bike Was Free to Rent

If this is accurate he relinquished his "right" to the bike by docking it. If he wanted to keep it he could've not tried to game the system by docking it to avoid charges. It became available to rent and she rented it.