They’re going the whole hog.
A gang of recreational bikers is opening a Bushwick garage that caters exclusively to two-wheeled vehicles.
Roll Up Brooklyn, which opens to the public on Jefferson Street between Wycoff and Irving avenues next month, will not only offer local motorcyclists a secure place to store their rides, but also a ready community of like-minded helmet-heads, said a co-owner of the garage.
“So many people need a place to store their bikes, and it made sense to do that in a central location where people can contribute to a sense of community,” said Roll Up Brooklyn co-owner Martin Diegelman.
Diegelman and his partners opened the garage privately for their two-wheeling friends a year ago, and they are now taking the enterprise public.
For $175 a month, wild ones can rent a space in the 24-hour garage, which also houses a communal workshop fitted out with lifts, workbenches, and tools. Members have free rein of the workspace, and are encouraged to help each other out on projects, Diegelman said.
“It is not like we will fix your bike for you, but if we are around, we will help out,” said Diegelman, who rides a 2011 Kawasaki KLR 650 and a 1981 Honda CB 900. “We will provide the tools and the knowledge and a place to work on their own bikes and help others fix theirs.”
There is currently space for 25 bikes, and Diegelman said they are adding room for at least eight more.
Members are also welcome to store bicycles in their spaces if they ride them to pick up their motorcycles, but cars and trucks are strictly forbidden.
The garage has become a de facto clubhouse for bikers who want to hang out and grill with their buddies on a warm night, and one member said he expects the cookouts and community will only get bigger and better when it opens as a public facility.
“It has become our front porch in a city where no one has front porches,” said Timothy McSweeney of Bushwick.
The garage will open to the public on May 1, and the owners said they plan to throw a party and art show on June 5 during Bushwick Open Studios.
Roll Up Brooklyn (382 Jefferson St. between Wycoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, between Wycoff and Irving avenues, www.rollu
