First the Bicycle Man's Tiffany Pines Community Outreach Center in North Carolina got the boot. Now Bike Again! in Halifax, Canada, is out on the street.
What's their connection? Both supply the space and labor to rebuild used and broken bicycles for children. Moses “Bicycle Man” Mathis has given away 8,000 bicycles to area kids over the years; Bike Again! estimates it has fixed up 1,800 bikes in the past six years.
The eviction of 69-year-old Mathis from property owned by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee caused such as ruckus in that town that the new owner — an Atlanta-based apartment developer — is allowing Mathis to stay through the holidays to donate bikes. He hopes to find a new shop and warehouses next year.
The Bike Again! project got the bad news in August. The volunteers haven't touched a bike for six weeks during what should be the busiest time of the year, founder Susanna Fuller told the Halifax Daily News.
The Bike Again! project was set up under the Halifax Regional Municipality's Ecology Action Centre to repair bikes headed to the landfill and give them to students, immigrants and others who need cheap transportation. Students could also use the shop's tools and facility to repair their bikes.
It was staying rent-free in the basement of the Ecology Action Centre in the Bloomfield building. The program was shut down while the basement heating system was replaced and learned it couldn't go back in.
Apparently a Halifax official told Ecology Action last year that the bike shop couldn't remain in the building because it didn't have a second exit. Fuller said the bike shop never heard they'd have to leave and didn't get an advance warning.
Ecology Action Centre website still touts the Bike Again! project, although the Bike Again! website is not available.
There's a brief description of their work at Spine.cx's Jeannine's blog. She said back in August:
Bike Again! is a wildly creative, fun group of people working to encourage cycling for everyone. They recycle bicycles for short and long-term loans, hold teaching workshops, and organize Critical Mass rides.
They are moving Halifax towards becoming a sustainable city by providing an example of an inclusive culture based on working together rather than buying stuff. They teach and learn bike repair while working cooperatively and using shared tools.
Hmmm. Organizing Critical Mass rides? Maybe that's why they're not getting any help.
See also — North Carolina's Bicycle Man has to pack up and move
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