The strike has affected the public's behavior in many ways. The number of people using bicycles to get to work, for example, has soared by 500 percent, based on a survey of key bike routes by the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. Business at bike shops has also jumped sharply.

But New Yorkers continued to complain yesterday that managers of some office buildings were refusing to allow people to bring their bicycle inside--even though the city's contingency plan encourages them to relax no-bike policies.

"It's a huge problem," said Noah Budnick, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives.

Brett Berkowitz, 35, a telecom specialist who works at 88 Pine St., said he was rebuffed by his building manager.

"He told me he had received hundreds of calls making the same request and he turned them all down," he said. "This is a perfect example of why you need to change the rules."

Andrew Troisi, a spokesman for OEM, said the city is encouraging owners to provide a biking option during the strike. There are also five bike-and-park areas.

"If at all possible, we hope that employers will offer a place to store bicycles as their employees seek to get to work during this very trying time," Troisi said.

An official with the Real Estate Board of New York did not return a phone call Wednesday.