Builder
Shabazz Stuart is trying to make secure bike parking ordinary.
He came to the problem as a lifelong New Yorker and cyclist. Over five years, three of his bikes were stolen. After the third theft, he went two years without replacing it.
Shabazz started asking why something so basic was so difficult. A bike can get you across the city quickly. Once you arrive, you still need somewhere safe to leave it.
In 2017, Shabazz and Manuel Mansylla founded Oonee.
The company builds modular stations for secure bike and micromobility parking. Small versions can sit at the curb. Larger Pods and Hubs can serve train stations, commercial districts, and other busy destinations. Riders can find and access stations through Oonee’s app, and the system is expanding to include charging and other services.
The first Oonee Pod was tested at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Oonee later worked with New York City on a curbside parking pilot and with the Port Authority to install secure parking around PATH stations and other transit hubs. In 2025, the company opened its Grove Street location, completing its goal of providing an Oonee station at every PATH station in Jersey City.
Shabazz has also pushed the conversation beyond the people who already bike. Secure storage matters for someone living in a small apartment. It matters for a delivery worker whose e-bike is part of how they earn a living. It matters for someone deciding whether buying a bike makes sense at all.
Through Oonee, Shabazz is working on what happens at the end of the ride.
A city that wants more people to bike needs somewhere for all those bikes to go.
One of Oonee’s most useful ideas is also one of its smallest.
The Oonee Mini can put secure parking for up to eight bikes or scooters into roughly the curb space occupied by one car. Other Oonee products can serve dozens or hundreds of riders at larger destinations.
That turns bike parking into part of the streetscape.
The stations can incorporate lighting, greenery, public art, information, charging, and other features depending on the location. They are designed to sit where people already need them: near transit, shops, workplaces, neighborhoods, and public spaces.
Shabazz has spent years making the case that the infrastructure around cycling needs to keep growing with the number of people who ride.
The bike lane gets someone down the street.
The parking space helps make the rest of the trip possible.
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