Since its inception in 1994, Recycle-A-Bicycle (RAB), an environmental education and youth training initiative based in Brooklyn, has collected more than 13,000 bicycles that have been repaired and resold. The latest RAB workshop,  founded in Long Island City, offers bike repair classes, distributes newly repaired bicycles and hosts riding classes.

Launched with a grant from Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group in New York City, RAB was designed as a bike mechanics program, said Amanda Hickman, the program’s communications director. Today it has become much more.

In 1997, Karen Overton, founder of RAB, opened two retail shops, one in Manhattan’s East Village and the other in DUMBO, selling used, donated and rescued bicycles. “There was a better way to deal with throwing away bicycles,” says Hickman. Bicycles are repaired and refurbished in the workshops, then sold in the retail stores.

All proceeds from the retail stores fund four RAB extracurricular programs at local public schools, where children ages 10 through 18 learn about bike repair, as well as the environmental benefits of recycling and bicycle transportation. Students can also join the Ride Club, which allows them to venture beyond the borders of their boroughs while learning safe cycling.

“The bicycle is really a tool for youth empowerment and youth education,” describes RAB Executive Director Lisa Stein. RAB has worked with more than 8,000 youths since 1994. “When you are learning bicycle repair, you can be learning math, you can be learning science. It gives kids a chance to do something with their hands and shows them that they can make a difference.”

Through the programs offered at four schools – Mirabel Sisters School in Washington Heights, Eugenio Maria de Hostos in Williamsburg, School for the Urban Environment in Bedford Stuyvesant and Roberto Clemente in the South Bronx – students can “Earn-A-Bike” by working an extra 24 hours on the cycles.

“It’s kind of a hook to get kids excited about bike repair,” Krollman claims. He’s been teaching the bike repair class to sixth- and seventh-graders since the fall. Five of them have earned their first bike.

Krollman, an environmentalist and cyclist, became involved with RAB nearly four years ago, when he built a bike from recycled parts at the DUMBO workshop. He still uses that same bike frame today. In addition to teaching the RAB class at Urban Assembly, he’s also a coordinator for the increasingly popular Ride Club.

Co-sponsored by Bike New York, NY Cycle Club, Time’s Up and Woodhull Hospital, Ride Club teaches kids 10 and older lessons on environmental and health issues.  “By bicycling we are not using a car and not creating exhaust,” reports Stein. “We are working to help support the next generation of healthy, environmentally-conscious, safe cyclists.” This year, the Ride Club has doubled its riders, she said. The Riders are usually limited to 25 kids.

Bike routes organized by Dr. Edward Fishkin, the medical director at Woodhull, begin at RAB’s LIC workshop on Sunday mornings. All enthusiasts are welcome; bikes and helmets are provided if necessary.

That old bicycle you no longer use could still have many miles left in its life span: no matter the condition, old bikes, along with all of their parts, are valuable to budding cyclists, environmentalists, and even artists. So what are you waiting for? Recycle your cycle.

How you can help:

Donate: Bicycles, bicycle parts, tools or related items can be dropped off to either retail site at 55 Washington St., Brooklyn, or 75 Avenue C in the East Village. Pick-ups in Manhattan, Brooklyn or western Queens can also be arranged for donations of 10 bikes or more. To send a monetary donation, call (718) 858-2972 or make checks payable to Recycle-A-Bicycle, 55 Washington St., Brooklyn, NY 11201. Visit RAB’s Web site for a wish list of items needed.
Volunteer: Visit www.recycleabicycle.org for a volunteer application and more information.