A bicycle co-operative in Scranton will soon begin repurposing an old park building, aiming to open to the public next year.
Named the Cycle Kitchen, the co-op in Connell Park recently received permission from the City of Scranton to start working on the building it took over this summer.
The nonprofit’s model is to provide bikes at no cost to youth and adults as long as they volunteer their time – that could be stripping parts from old bikes or helping fix others.
A tool library and bike stands for anyone to work on their equipment will also be featured in the finished space.
Gene McDonough, president of the Anthracite Bicycle Coalition, said his team will soon be looking for help from volunteers to get the former concession stand and storage building in shape, from painting, to hanging sheetrock and basic plumbing. Work could start as soon as January.
“We just bought our first round of tools,” McDonough said. “We have a huge inventory of rims and used tires and used tubes.”
The nonprofit has about 120 bicycles in various sizes and conditions that will eventually need work.
McDonough said although the condition of the building prevented them from working inside, the group didn’t want to wait to start their project.
So far, the group of volunteer bike mechanics has held work hours outside the park building, encouraging people to learn how to fix some of those bikes.
As the winter weather approaches and the days get shorter, work hours have been limited. McDonough said volunteer work days would be postponed while they begin work on the building.
Despite the name, there will be no food at Cycle Kitchen. The title refers to an international trend in naming bike collectives, sometimes called “bike churches,” “kitchens” or “co-ops.”
“When you have a party at your house, where does everybody end up? They end up in the kitchen,” McDonough said.
