Wall St Journal adds some mystery to the Alta/City Hall showdown

Justin Ginsburgh Steps Down Amid Increasing Pressure to Raise Funds

An excerpt

Justin Ginsburgh submitted his resignation about three weeks ago, according to the people familiar with the matter. That was before revelations leaders of the financially strapped program needed tens of millions of dollars to expand to new neighborhoods and increase its appeal to tourists.

The city is now pushing to restructure the program, which is run by a subsidiary of Alta Bicycle Share Inc. of Portland, Ore. The company operates Citi Bike through its subsidiary NYC Bike Share.

Some questions and observations

• If he resigned before the current brouhaha, why did Alta use yesterday to announce the news?

• The disclosure means that the WSJ reporters who wrote the story did not know Ginsburgh was a goner throughout their dealings with Alta, including a Mar 21 interview with Alta's chief exec.

• Ginsburgh's resignation three weeks ago would have come a week after the NY Times NYToday column reported (using our numbers) on a then-record 60 concurrent empty stations.

• City pushing to restructure the program. Heretofore, WSJ had Alta pushing the city for changes in the fee structure. So what restructuring is the city seeking?