East Side Pedal Pushers

Check it out y'all, awesome event on the near horizon! The guys at East Side Pedal Pushers have finally settled into their new shop and are going to be throwing a big PARTY! Here's the info I just got via the emails (thanks Jay!):

What: Eastside Pedal Pushers grand re-opening fiesta - sombrero optional

When: Sunday Feb 22, 5PM - ?

Where: eastside pedal pushers' NEW location - 1414 east 5th st @ onion

What to expect: beer, bbq, live music: woodgrain, black cock, megazilla and a whole lot of cool bike shit!

Music, beer, BBQ, and lots of awesome bikers hanging out, sounds like my kind of good time!

On my way to the Yellow Bike Project collective meeting I stopped by East Side Pedal Pushers' old 6th St. location and noticed a sign with a new address written on it: 1414 East 5th Street. Sure enough, when I got home I checked my email to find the following message sitting in my inbox:

yo man

Lee and shop moved to 1414 East 5th Street (5th and Onion) Here are some photos from the move

Great news, thanks for keeping me informed Gideon! I'm really glad that Lee and crew found a good place to land, and will need to swing by and check out their new digs whenever I'm in the area next. It's only 6 blocks away from the old location and right down the street from my second favorite coffee shop! Be sure to check out Gideon's flickr gallery to see some really nice artsy looking pics of the move and all the people involved. Y'all rule!

I didn't get a chance to write up a recap of what happened last Monday down at the City Council chambers, but Simon Z saved me the trouble by sending one out yesterday. Here's what he has to say about the somewhat bittersweet results of our actions:

OK, so the update on Lee and his Eastside Pedal Pushers bike shop is that about 30-40 people from the bike community showed up at City Hall for the Board of Adjustments meeting on Monday evening and registered that they were against the granting of a parking variance for Pedal Pusher's landlord that would enable him to evict PP and the other tenant, Julia's, and replace them with tenants who have offered more money to open a coffee shop at that location.

A variance is basically an exemption from a requirement in city code, which in this case was to reduce the car parking requirement for a coffee shop type business from 12 spaces to 0 (zero) spaces. The main reason being that there is very little parking at that location. As a biker I'm normally in favor of waiving parking requirements, which tend to encourage driving, but in this case there are a couple of issues:

1) There is a bus stop in front of Lee's shop which means that there is no way to park in front of that location

2) There is no adequate, alternative parking, so the folks who will suffer are residents, other business owners, pedestrians and road users who have to deal with increased congestion and reduced visibility.

3) There is already an approved plan for a multi-story hotel on the same block (Medina and Waller between E. 6th and 7th) that will increase traffic.

4) There are other available locations in East Austin with adequate parking.

5. There are 2 existing coffee shops within 4-5 blocks of this location (Cafe Mundi and Progress)

So there were good and bad results to last night's solidarity from the bike community. Lee's landlord did not attend the hearing, probably assuming it was certain to pass. Due to the opposition, the variance hearing was postponed to Monday November 10th at 5.30pm, City Hall, Council Chambers, which everyone is again encouraged to attend. The bad part is that Lee's landlord called to say he was angry at his audacity in contesting the variance and gave him a verbal 30 day notice to move out.

According to Lee, he has a strong lead on a new and better location, but that doesn't mean y'all should stop and see him and ask what help he needs with the move.

Cheers, Simon

So regardless of the variance meeting, Lee is going to have to move. luckily it sounds like he has a new location in mind, but I'm sure an abrupt 30-day move notice is the last thing any business owner wants sprung on them. If you're on the east side, check in with the guys at ESPP and see if there's anything you can do to help. We've gotta look out for our own, as it's obvious that the lure of money trumps "community value" in the eyes the landlord of this property.

Gideon took some pics of tonight's Board of Adjustment meeting. Go look at his flikr gallery to see all of 'em, but here are a few to show you what went down:

Good job, y'all. Remember, it happens again November 10th. I'll see you there.

Update (9:23pm): There were two people who showed up for the variance, and about 25-30 cyclists who opposed it, with about an equal number who signed the roster against the variance and then left. After a bit of discussion the board decided to delay their decision for another month so that Lee could meet with the neighborhood association. Several members of the board wanted to move to deny the motion (specifically boardmembers King and Van Olen), but they got beat to the punch by the motion to delay. One board member mentioned how parking his dually on that street effectively blocked traffic, and agreed with the adverse effects increased street parking would have. This was a good outcome.

Next meeting is November 10. More later, but everyone's leaving for beers and I'm going with. Good work y'all! See you in a month, same bat time, same bat council chamber.

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Update (9:13pm): We got first crack at the podium. Lee went first, after which 6 other ESPP-friendly speakers said their peace. We went 2-minutes over, so the people seeking the variance were also given an additional 2 minutes. Since most of the points of street usage, community and historical preservation were covered, I mentioned how it would impact the commuter cyclists of the east side if the shop were removed, as well as the dangers the increased street parking would cause to cyclists on the road.

The guy seeking the variance is saying that Lee's business has nothing to do with the building or the variance requested, and should have nothing to do with the issue.

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Update (9:00pm): It's on. The guy who's speaking on the two ladies' behalf is a hard-ass.

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Update (8:56pm): If you want to read the motion for variance in its' entirety, you can do so here:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/agenda/2008/downloads/e12c1520080138_101308.p...

Their specific request is to waive the requirement for a minimum of 12 off-street parking spots if they're to remodel the building for use as a restaurant or (in this case) a cafe. This would force patrons to park on the street, increasing the use of right-of way by parked cars and also increasing the danger to bicycles of being caught in the "door zone" of a parked car. Since there are no bike lanes on this portion of 6th St. and there's no way of widening the street, allowing this variance would only take away from the limited amount of pavement through which a cyclist can navigate their way down the street. Talk about some bullshit.

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Welcome to ATXBS' VERY FIRST Liveweblog! Oh shit! That's right, we're getting with the times...

Speaking of time, you've still got time to get down here and sign the paper to help keep them from shutting down East Side Pedal Pushers with this zoning variance. The wheels of justice turn slowly, and this is taking forever. There's probably another hour of this crap before they get to Lee's case, so if you're in the area bike down to City Hall at Caesar Chavez and Guadalupe, enter the front door (leave your contraband at home), and sign this thing. If you're on Lee's side, this is how you want to sign the paper:

C15-2008-0138 - Against - Your Name - Your Address

Afterwards we're gonna grab a drink (if I can convince everyone else to go). Hope to see y'all here!

I mentioned this a week or two back, but our favorite race organizer Brian Davies sent this out a few days ago and I wanted to re-post it as a reminder of what's happening tonight at the City Council Chambers:

Hey everyone.

Quick breakdown - strange things are afoot on the east side of Austin TX and Lee needs help. Some hippies are trying to remove him from his shop to put in *another* coffee shop on the east side. You all ride bikes, so you know we need more shops in town than we need more coffee shops. Don't get me wrong - I love some coffee, but there are already 3, that I know of, within a mile or so. And Progress it HUGE!

Anyway - if you like Lee, or bike shops, or fighting the power, here's the stats:

City Council Chambers
301 W. 2nd.
5:30 pm on Monday the 13th

Show up, ride your bike (of course), and try to look *real* mean.

Thanks for your support.

And yes - the Giro will happen. I will start plotting it when I get back into town on the 19th.

L,
BrianDaviesIsAJerk

If you're in the downtown area or can get down there around 5:30pm, stop by and make an appearance. I figure the bigger show of the bike community rallying behind Lee and the rest of the East Side Pedal Pusher crew, the better. Not discounting the other quality shops in the area but ESPP really is my favorite of the east-side shops. The guys there do quality work and are truly excellent people beyond being great mechanics. They also sell affordable used bikes and will work on anything without turning their nose up at you. This is our kinda bike shop. Keep them in business, y'all!

Update: I just spoke with Lee on the phone and he told me that things aren't quite as dire as they sounded in the email below. He did say that ESPP was still in danger of not having their lease renewed and being ejected from the building to make way for another gallery or cafe, but that he was trying to work with the landlord and the other building tenant to come to an amicable agreement. He first got wind of the City Council meeting when a sign was erected in front of his shop stating that the two people pushing this had gone to the neighborhood association to request a parking variance for that building, so that they could increase the available car parking space to better facilitate their view of what should be in the property.

The meeting with the board of adjustment has been scheduled for Monday, October 13th at 5:30pm. It all goes down in the Austin City Council Chambers, located at 301 West 2nd. Lee would love to have cyclists of all types show up to support him and his shop, as well as the cycling community as a whole. His one request is that everyone remember to be on their best behavior. The last thing he needs is a few angry cyclists showing up and causing a scene, so please remember that we're trying to impress the city with how friendly and cohesive a community we are, and not scare or harass them.

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I got the following email yesterday that had a good bit of harrowing news concerning East Side Pedal Pushers. It looks like there are a pair of chicks who have been coveting his prime East Side location, and are doing everything in their power to have his shop removed. Check it out:

Hey Jason --

Wanted to let you know that Lee, Scott and the rest of the ESPP community are about to be removed from their spot if the bike community doesn't take action. There are two girls who want to kick them out to build a cafe / art gallery there. I'm a little unclear as to how the bureaucratic details work out, but I know there's a hearing with the Neighborhood Association for that area on Monday, Oct. 13th that is open to the public and they're basically going to be deliberating over the fate of the space. So if enough people show up and give Lee support, the shop might have a case for community value (as opposed to yet another of the many already existing yuppy cafes on E. 5th/6th) and could reasonably work out a deal to stay put. I mean, he's got the only real legit bike shop on the east side (minus YBP of course) so I don't see how he could possibly be deemed unimportant if there's a big enough crowd.

If you know Lee, you'll know he's one of the most un-assuming and worthwhile guys around. In other words, I think it's going to take the rest of the community to be the loud-mouthed obnoxious supporters.

So if you could maybe get in touch with Lee and see what the details are more specifically, would you mind posting about it on ATXBS?

Thanks and good riding,

Evan

I've only been in there a few times but it's really one of Austin's hidden gems. If you're riding fast on a titanium and carbon road machine it's easy to miss it, but if you're cruising along in stately style on a bike that's older than you are, you really owe it to yourself to stop in and shoot the shit with Lee for a bit. These guys are the people to go to when you want to refurbish your dad's old ten-speed, or are looking for a used bicycle that's in good shape but won't cost you an arm and a leg. If you're in the neighborhood, swing on through and see what you might be able to do to help. The bike community needs to look out for their own, especially someone who's given so much to us over the years.