A photo of a bike that looks like the one stolen on Sunday night from West 78th street.
Thieves removed the sign from a street pole on 78th street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue and lifted a bicycle over the top of the pole on Sunday night, a reader tells us. The whole operation, in fact, appears to have been relatively high-tech — and tough to guard against. Says the reader:
“The past few days I’ve been hearing what sounds like a pneumatic tool to remove lug nuts (from a car tire) in the middle of the night. I suspect that is what is being used to get these signs off quickly and grab the bikes. Please alert fellow UWS’ers….the Police are fairly helpless in these matters, even if they did want to help, so citizens be on alert, and if you hear something call the cops when its happening!”
Here’s a description of the bike:
“Black, unmarked (no stickers/logos) with a tan cloth seat, and tan-wall tires. 2 black plastic fenders, shifters on the end of the drop-bar (like street bikes) handle-bars. The pedals are regular on one-side and made for clips on the other.”
In a Craigslist post about the theft, the reader says that the bike’s got special locks on it that make it impossible to change a flat “without cutting and junking the entire wheels.” He’s asking the thief to come forward to discuss a “fair trade” before it hits the black market.
If only thieves could channel this kind of creativity into higher pursuits, we would all be riding hovercrafts on the moon!
Wouldn’t this not be a problem at all if bicyclists obeyed the law and didn’t chain their bikes to signposts and other public property (except bike racks provided for that purpose)?
What makes you think bikes don’t get stolen from bike racks?
Besides that..let’s get to the root of all if not most economic crimes…..Bike Theft wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t so hard to make a decent buck and live a normal middle to lower middle class life..which is, let’s be honest, most people would be overwhelmingly thrilled to live at.
I bet if ANYONE could afford to buy a nice bike or have enough money..they wouldn’t have the need to steal anything.
Can you direct me to the statute or ordinance that prohibits cyclists from locking to signs and lampposts? My understanding is that while trees are illegal, most other street furniture is okay.
What a ridiculous comment David S. There’s no law against doing that, and there are inadequate bike racks everywhere in the city anyway. There’s just no other place to lock up your bike.
it has always been a risky proposition to leave a (decent) bike locked up out on the street overnight on the UWS. I’ve seen thieves hoist an entire bike up over a parking sign pole where the sign was missing – and they did it in broad daylight! I feel for the guy, but honestly he should have known better…… I accidentally left my Specialized bike locked up overnight outside my building once; and came back the next day to find the seat and the front wheel gone. I had two locks on it, so I suppose I was lucky. But it’s a shame that we live in a city where thievery is rampant, the police do nothing, and the city would rather spend millions of their dollars hiring people to ticket parked cars rather than fight crime or ticket drivers for going through red lights, speeding, making illegal turns, etc.
What bike racks?? I don’t see a lot of bike racks around. And I didn’t know it’s against the law to chain a bike to a sign if there are no bike racks. What is a cyclist supposed to do if there are no bike racks? How is this law enforced? Is the bike ticketed?
I got my bike stolen off a bike rack years ago. It can happen anywhere, anytime.
it must be awful to discover your bicycle, stolen especially after doing the ‘right thing’ by locking it carefully.
but i must say it was only a matter of time. i’ve been eyeing these signposts for years—those anchored with a bolt into a flange—wondering when someone will do the obvious. even an adjustable 8″ wrench will do the trick, and silently.
it’s too easy.
better to lock to a tree, until thieves start carrying saws.
Webot’s girl got hers stolen last weekend in broad daylight. They cut the metal cable rope.
I’m not saying this is the case here, but last week I read that stolen bikes are being used by these “no name” bike rental places. All the more reason to be careful.
This city is so bad on so many levels, but I still love it!
We live on that block. I heard that weird noise late at night too and assumed it was just someone fixing their apt–drilling something, maybe. It’s awfully loud for a secret theft….
Unfortunately, as New Yorkers we are self-trained to ignore just about all loud noises.
As to the reader claiming bikes should only be chained to racks — we all know that there aren’t nearly enough to make that practical (and indeed it is perfectly legal to chain to street signs).
https://www.theonion.com/articles/no-one-seems-to-care-that-area-mans-bike-was-stole,1468/
The locking bolts should be on the signs. Just borrow a ladder and apply metal filled epoxy paste to those bolt joints where you lock your bike.
Some readers may not realize that Scott’s post from The Onion is from a satirical online newspaper.
I live on this block as well and have noticed this lovely bike many many times. My neighbor commutes downtown on his bike and sadly has learned an expensive lesson….I also commute to work on my bike but do have an easy place to keep it inside…living in a walkup makes storage a bit tricky….The neighborhood has added many “cameras” and I suspect there is one with a lovely photo of the thief waltzing away with this bike…
Sara – it was lovely meeting you. Several other neighbors chimed in as well. Some with tales of bikes stolen, one person had his Vespa stolen from the same spot. It would be great if he had a rack there, but truthfully and sadly inside is the only way to make sure its safe. The one officer I dealt with was amazing (officer Vincek). The others I dealt with were, honestly, jerks. Just shows even in that, its all about you get lucky (or unlucky) enough to help out.
How about cameras pointed directly where bikes are stored AND owned and operated by the NYPD – (the police rely on private cameras from landlords and business owners).
Of course, the far left wing will scream “Big brother” , but the reality is we are being filmed all the time. I am comfortable with it. Lets get more out there to protect ourselves and community.
Where cyclists are locking to signs, that should be a clear indication to the DOT that CityRacks are needed.
When I bought my first road bike in NYC, I asked the nice bike store guy which lock he recommended. He said “none.”. He said to never turn my back on it even for a minute, because that’s about how long it takes an experienced bike thief to get through even the best lock.
(If you’re interested, somewhere on youtube, there’s a video demonstrating how thieves can defeat even the best locks on the market.)
I took his advice. I never leave my bike unattended. And since there has been at least one theft from our building’s bike room this year, I keep it in my apartment.
After having 3 bikes stolen, I HOPE I’ve cracked the code.
1). As good a lock as possible
2). Lock it to as solid a post as possible (NOT construction scaffolding – that was bike 3)
3). Never over night.
Good luck!
FYI – I’ve been getting a lot of emails responding to my craigslist ad from other people in the UWS having their bikes stolen in the past few days. As someone said, never leave it outside overnight, and street signs seem to be a bad idea too. We need more real bike racks, but not sure if people in the neighborhood would welcome them on the sidewalks (I wish they would, Bikes> Cars)
My bike was stolen at 6:30 Monday night just outside of Starbuck on 81st Street. I was having coffee with a friend and in 40 minutes the bike was gone. It was locked at a bike rack.