New York City's Transportation Alternatives and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation have been selected as the first recipients of REI/Bicycle Friendly Communities Grants of $15,000 each. This new grant fund, administered by the Bikes Belong Foundation and made possible by generous support from Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), helps aspiring, committed Bicycle Friendly Communities become great places to ride.

City officials have been trying to create more places where New Yorkers can ride their bikes safely, but finding secure places to park them is an enduring problem.

Now, a few business executives have dreamed up a private-sector solution: the city's first bikes-only parking lot, complete with attendant. Already, they have cleared the high hurdle of finding available space in Midtown, on West 33rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

All they need is a corporation willing to pay as much as $200,000 a year to sponsor the idea.

A few business executives have dreamed up a private-sector solution to the problem of secure bicycle parking in New York: the city's first bikes-only parking lot. They have a space on West 33rd Street. All they need is a corporation willing to pay as much as $200,000 a year to sponsor it.

"We're really looking for a big number to build something quite spectacular," said Daniel A. Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership. "We want this to be the premier bike parking facility in the country."