What members said
The board agreed to survey members on the new site. The pattern, not the people: club members cannot agree the new site is better than the one it replaced.
- Four in tensay the new site is worse than the old one.
- Fifteenasked, in writing, to bring the old site back.
- Zerofeatures earned a passing grade.
“Just … reconsider the whole project. Was the new site built by people who never used the old site? The members never see the whole ride description because it’s hidden in boxes.”
Ride leader and volunteer, 10+ years in the club
“The listings on the old site were much clearer and also easier to read. Sorry to say, but as far as I am concerned it is a very poor ROI after years under development.”
Ride leader and volunteer, 10+ years in the club
“Ride listings take several clicks just to see what the leader has posted. All feedback given during initial stages was ignored, even from UX and other professionals who work in the industry. The website has turned off new potential leaders.”
Ride leader and volunteer, 10+ years in the club
“UX design and layout for most screens is poor for its primary function for members: ride information. I speak from well over 30 years of experience building large professional public websites.”
Ride leader, 10+ years in the club
Member survey, 2026, run after a board motion. Quotes are anonymized by the survey.
What $200,000 bought
Board minutes & financial statementsTwo ways to build a club website, side by side. Figures are from NYCC board minutes and financial statements.
| The official project | The member-built alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Since 2022. Rides app since Aug 2023. | About seven months. |
| Cost to members | About $200,000 | $0 to the club |
| Launch | Promised spring 2025, then Dec 2025–Jan 2026. Live ~June 2026. | Working. Any member can log in and test it. |
| Ride history | None imported. | 30,000+ historical rides imported. |
| Who built it | Outside contractors, several developer turnovers. | One member, with volunteers ready. |
The timeline
- 2024Board announces go-live for spring 2025.
- May 2025Status report: 23 of 55 features complete.
- Sept 2025Board approves a $43,000 “final push”. Spend to date about $111,000.
- Dec 2025Status report: 1 of 40 features complete after a scope cut. Board adds $3,600. Total about $200,000.
- Jan 14, 2026The Director of Technology proposes stopping work on the official app and putting all effort into the member-built site.
- Feb 2026Board reviews both, “encourages collaboration”, keeps the official app.
- June 2026Official site launches. The member survey rates it a downgrade.
Red marks a figure past the promise: a slipped date or money beyond the plan.
In his own words
“I would like to explore immediately stopping work on the Membership App [app.nycc.org] and focusing all product and design effort towards launching Next.js [tools.nycc.org]…”
The board kept the official app. It launched about June 2026.