Hi all. Last week my girlfriend's bike was stolen on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
Recently, a number of new bike racks have appeared along Atlantic, from 3rd or 4th Ave up to Henry (maybe further?). They were placed there by the DOT, maybe 3-4 per block on both sides of the street. We were both pretty excited about the new parking options until last week. One night, thieves pulled the rack out of the sidewalk and took her bike. Needless to say, she's pretty distraught and is doing whatever she can to prevent this from happening to someone else.
Streetsblog has posted an email (http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/06/08/cyclists-be-warned-new-city-bike-racks-may-not-be-secure/) from her, and several sources have suggested she sue the city (probably not going to happen). She has put up photos (http://flickr.com/photos/voodoohoodoo/) of the rack after it was pulled (and one with the bike attached).
Curious as to what your thoughts are on the state of bike racks in NYC when supplied by the DOT, do you feel they can be trusted? Are some better than others?
And, you know, if you see that HooDoo around, tackle whomever is riding it.
Air
06-12-07, 12:04 PM
I read about that - totally sucks :( I wouldn't trust them but I don't trust my beater away from a line of sight for long.
Bacciagalupe
06-12-07, 01:36 PM
WTF. That's just ridiculous.
For what it's worth, I do not park anything valuable on the street for more than 30 seconds. Y'all may also want to consider a folding bike, which are very easy to bring into most places and store in your apartment.
If it hasn't made it there already, Gothamist is rather keen on such things.....
geo8rge
06-13-07, 09:51 AM
The usual advice. Take the seat post. Overnight take the front wheel and all skewers. etch your name into the bike. The attack would have been less successful with a U lock. I suspect they used a hydraulic hand jack to lift the rack up. I do not think the city is at fault.
I wonder if Kryptonite insurance would cover this. I think they only pay if the lock/chain was broken.
Air
06-13-07, 10:03 AM
Wouldn't need a hydraulic jack - just ram it a few times with your body or get a decent length of pipe and use it as a fulcrum.
Stacy
06-13-07, 12:44 PM
Another possibility is that the rack was hit by a car, accidently or deliberately. The thief could just slip the bike off the rack, toss the bike in the back, and worry about the lock later.
Adding a bar that would prevent a u lock from slipping off a dislodged bike rack might help prevent this. At least the theif would have considerably more to haul away.
It's really amazing to see how far bike theives will go in this city.Some time back there was a story on Craigslist about theives disassembling some scaffolding to steal bikes.
jemoryl
06-14-07, 07:26 AM
Those racks don't look robust enough for NYC. The city needs to find a better design, but given their general antipathy towards cyclists I wouldn't hold my breath.
Air
06-14-07, 07:29 AM
Another possibility is that the rack was hit by a car, accidently or deliberately. The thief could just slip the bike off the rack, toss the bike in the back, and worry about the lock later.
I read somewhere about a slew of racks being knocked over so I doubt it was accidentally. But a car would make it pretty easy though do a job on the paintjob.
A bar at the bottom would help that out - great idea.
droolcup
06-14-07, 07:57 AM
Brooklyn Papers contacted Steph for an interview yesterday, so there will be a bit more coverage in the meatspace, which I think is a good way of informing people who don't follow along online.
I tend to lock up to securely planted street signs and parking meters (and it helps my current bike looks like a bigger POS than it is), but I'm always a bit paranoid that something will happen.
I think the notion of a bottom bracket, or looped bar on the pole is a great idea too, now who wants to implement it ;)
Lucky07
06-18-07, 02:13 PM
I've seen those racks hacksawed right at the top. One lock is not enough if you're parking your bike outside for more than a minute (literally). You need a u lock and cable lock at the absolute minimum.
Blue Jays
06-18-07, 02:20 PM
Ride in groups and leave a person to watch your bike if you must run into a store or something. I live in a suburban/semi-rural area and that's what my group does when we make a deli stop halfway through a ride.
Bacciagalupe
06-18-07, 06:36 PM
Ride in groups and leave a person to watch your bike if you must run into a store or something. I live in a suburban/semi-rural area and that's what my group does when we make a deli stop halfway through a ride.
The 10-minute lock-up isn't really a problem. Heck, I use the thinnest cable lock in existence on my (cheapo ;) ) road bike, when ducking into stores. There's no way I'm going to ride only when in a group....
The problem is that the rack itself can be pulled out of the ground pretty easily:
Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but I'd think they'd pull this kind of stunt in the middle of the night.
zacster
06-19-07, 04:30 AM
That installation is laughable, and indicative of how DOT feels about bicycles. They just want to give the appearance of being cycle friendly. A parking meter would never be bolted down like that, but set into concrete.
My own opinion though is to never lock your bike up out of your sight if you want to see it again.
mattyknacks
06-19-07, 02:53 PM
The 10-minute lock-up isn't really a problem. Heck, I use the thinnest cable lock in existence on my (cheapo ;) ) road bike, when ducking into stores. There's no way I'm going to ride only when in a group....
The problem is that the rack itself can be pulled out of the ground pretty easily:
Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but I'd think they'd pull this kind of stunt in the middle of the night.
I lock my bike to NYC DOT racks often, and that does not look like one to me. Usually, at least in my neighborhood, the racks are made of round tubing and look thicker then the one in the photo.
Are you sure that is a city installed rack?
Stacy
06-19-07, 05:24 PM
I read somewhere, maybe on the TA site, that the newer DOT bike racks are, indeed, square.
Some small business put their own bike racks outside their stores. Apparently they appreciate cyclists. Some of these are thinner, hold several bikes, and aren't attached to the ground at all.
droolcup
06-19-07, 08:02 PM
Yeah, these are definitely DOT installed, they have a big sticker on the side stating as much.
I've noticed them now all over the city, not just downtown Brooklyn.
keithnyc
06-20-07, 11:01 AM
I hate to say it, but when a bike is parked on the street in an unttended area, even if locked to a bike rack, the reasonable person should not be surprised if the bike is not there or is not in the same condition the next day or even an hour or two after they return (same thing with a locked, parked car on a NY public street instead of an attended garage).
Cities in NY simply have a much higher % of brazen thieves and similiar nasty/selfish/non-empathetic characters than some other cities.