News Press Releases

New Yorkers to Use Citi Bikes to "Light Up" Queens and Support the Mets on Their Championship Run

V.ZZE.H | October 30, 2015

Citi Field at Times Square Mets Fan Experience to Feature Stationary Citi Bikes Fans Can Ride to Generate Power to Light the “Crown” of Queens’ Tallest Building in Orange and Blue

Times Square Rally on Today and Tomorrow to Feature Rally Towel and Citi Bike Pass Giveaways, Fan Photo Ops and an Appearance by Former Met and Fan Favorite John Franco

Tower Lights will React to the Game, Including Bursts of Light upon a Mets Home Run, Red/White/Blue During the National Anthem and More

Ahead of the first game of the Mets-Royals series at Citi Field, Citi today announced ways for fans to help propel New York’s hometown team to its first championship since 1986. Today and tomorrow, Citi will unveil the Citi Field at Times Square Mets Fan Experience outside of the 7 train station, which will feature Mets-branded Citi Bikes that fans will be invited to ride to generate kinetic energy that will be collected and stored in batteries. The energy will be transferred to the New York City power grid to offset energy used to light the “crown” of Citi’s tower in Long Island City – the tallest building in Queens visible from Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan and workplace for more than 5,700 of Citi’s workforce – in Mets’ orange and blue.

“New Yorkers never quit, and no team embodies that fighting spirit more than the Mets,” said Ed Skyler, Citi’s Head of Global Public Affairs. “Mets fans have waited a long time for this, and we’re going to help them get things started early with a rally at Times Square before we light up Queens in orange and blue.”

Citi’s Mets activities will include:

Citi Field at Times Square Mets Fan Experience

In addition to the Mets-branded Citi Bikes, the Times Square Fan Zone will feature Citi Bike pass giveaways, as well as a number of Mets-themed photo opportunities. Former Met and fan favorite John Franco will also make an appearance on Friday at 2:00 PM. The Citi Field Fan Zone will be located on 7^th Avenue between 41^st and 42^nd Streets outside of the 7 train station that will take fans to Citi Field. The Fan Zone will be open to fans today, Friday, October 30^th from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM and tomorrow, October 31^st from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

Lighting the “Crown” of Queens’ Tallest Building with Orange and Blue

With the help of Citi Bike pedal power, Citi will light the top four floors of One Court Square – the green glass tower it has long-occupied in Long Island City – with massive orange and blue LED projection lights and programmable, high-intensity spotlights starting on Friday at 6:20 PM. During the games at Citi Field, the lights will “react” to on field action, with bursts of light upon a Mets home run, pulsating lights to coincide with “Let’s Go Mets” chants, red/white/blue during the national anthem and more. One Court Square is the tallest building in Queens.

“Let’s Go Mets” Social Media Campaign

This week, Citi also launched a “Let’s Go Mets” digital video series featuring Mr. Met, aimed at generating excitement and support amongst fans using the #LGM hashtag. Follow or join the conversation on social media at #LGM, @Citi, and @Citibank.

Citi is also encouraging all of its New York-based employees to wear orange and blue to work on Friday to support the Mets.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.