The teenager at the center of the Manhattan Citi Bike feud offered his side of the story about the rental that sparked a confrontation with pregnant hospital worker Sarah Comrie.
The 17-year-old boy and his family recently told NewsOne he was riding the bike all day and planned to use it again after he docked it at a Kips Bay station when Comrie momentarily rented out the two-wheeler for her ride home after her shift.
A clip of the heated May 12 encounter between the black teen, who was with other friends, and Comrie quickly went viral after it was posted online.
Comrie has since been put on leave from her job as a physician assistant with Bellevue Hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals said earlier this month pending a review.
The teen, who went by the pseudonym Michael in the story, provided receipts to NewsOne that indicated he began using the Citi Bike in the Bronx with a group of pals earlier that day as they made their way to Harlem.
During his travels, he then used the same bike from 6:33 p.m. until it was docked at the 1st Avenue and East 30th Street station at 7:19 p.m. where the video was shot.
Comrie’s lawyer Justin Marino provided a receipt to The Post earlier this month that showed his client rented the same Citi Bike at 7:24 p.m. — five minutes after it was docked by the teen.
Michael, whose family receives some public assistance, explained to NewsOne that because he and his friends have discounted memberships to Citi Bike, they’ll dock their bikes before going over 45 minutes when more charges are applied to each ride, and then take out the same bikes when the timers reset.
“Even regular Citi Bike riders do this,” the teen’s older sister told the outlet. “The price goes up after 45 minutes for everyone, so people routinely ride their bikes, dock their bikes, ride their bikes and dock their bikes again.”
The receipts published by NewsOne show the bike Michael was on was used for less than 45 minutes each time throughout the day before it was docked.
Marino previously told The Post in a written statement that after a 12-hour shift, Comrie, who is six-months pregnant, got on an available bike “which no individuals were on or touching” and paid for it through the Citi Bike app on her phone.
He then said that as she backed it out of the docking station, a group of five people approached her and claimed the bike was theirs before pushing it back into the docking station with her on it.
But Michael insisted on a different version of events.
He claimed to NewsOne that Comrie asked his two friends and then asked him if she could use one of the bikes they were resting on. They all told her no, he said.
Michael, who says he was holding onto the bike’s handlebars, claimed he told her he was about to take the bike back out, and then Comrie asked if he could “help a pregnant woman out?”
Michael said he again declined and told her that he rode the bike from the Bronx and needed it to get home.
Comrie then allegedly leaned over him and scanned the code with her phone with his hands still on the handlebars, Michael said. She then attempted to push her way onto the bike and remove it from the docking station, the teen alleged to the outlet.
After the teen was able to push the bike back into the docking station, he said he tried to reserve the bike on his phone. That’s when Comrie took the phone out of his hand, he claimed.
He quickly grabbed it back, as seen on the video of the confrontation.
Marino declined to comment on the teen’s version of events when reached by phone by The Post Tuesday night.
He previously said in the written statement that one of the individuals blocked the QR code that stopped Comrie from paying for it again so she could leave.
Comrie jumped on another bike at 7:26 p.m. and rode it for about 25 minutes until she got home, according to a previously provided receipt.
Receipts Michael’s family gave NewsOne showed the teen took the bike out at 7:25 p.m. for about six minutes before docking it at the same Kips Bay station where the showdown had just happened.
He then rented it again starting at 7:59 p.m. from that station, and went north with at least one pit stop before his final destination in the Bronx at 10:12 p.m., according to the receipts provided.
“That lady asked my boy for his bike, and he said no,” the teen’s mother told the outlet. “Why couldn’t she just go and get a different bike?”
One of the teen’s friends recorded the video in order to feel safe, the family said. Comrie yelled for help during the confrontation.
Marino alleged Comrie was heckled by the boys during the argument, adding, “The fact anyone would treat another person like this is tragic, especially a visibly pregnant woman.”
Marino insisted in a Fox News interview earlier this month his client has no ill will toward the boys in the video and has dedicated her career to helping others, regardless of background.
