Bike Stripped In Broad Daylight On Emmons Ave, Sheepshead Bay Road

Ned Berke -

The horror! The unacceptable, outrageous horror!

The bicycle of Sheepshead Bites’ own Erica Sherman was pilfered yesterday in broad daylight at one of the neighborhood’s busiest intersections. And nobody saw nothin’.

Sherman locked her bike to the Bay’s railing at 10:30 a.m., at the intersection of Sheepshead Bay Road and Emmons Avenue. When she came back to the spot at approximately 2:30 p.m., she was shocked to find that her only means of transportation was little more than a cruddy public art display.

The thief made off with two tires with matching 8-ball gauge caps, front and back strobe lights, and an American flag bell, the last of which was surely a win for terrorism.

The location is popular with strolling neighbors, shoppers, restaurant patrons, fisherman and beachgoers. Hundreds of people, if not thousands, passed by it in the time it was locked up. And, somehow, somebody managed to go up to, inspect it, dismantle it, and walk away with their bounty without anybody saying a damn thing.

Is that the kind of neighborhood we want to be? One where neighbors aren’t looking out for each other?

Apparently, it’s not the first bike-related theft to happen at that intersection. Just a few weeks ago, also in broad daylight, a patron left his bicycle outside of Zephyr’s Deli (1729 Emmons Avenue). In the brief moment he went inside to talk to the clerk, someone hopped on his bicycle and took off.

While the thieves are the ones to blame, we can help thwart them in the future. A few things:

  • Don’t leave your bike unlocked and unattended. Not even for a moment.
  • U-locks only do so much. A chain lock that can be weaved through the frame and both tires is more secure.
  • Although it didn’t help in Erica’s situation, locking your bike in a high-trafficked, well-lighted place is better than a dark, empty street.
  • Get your bike registered with the NYPD. It won’t help if your tires are stolen, but if the entire bike is swiped and later recovered by the police, they can track it back to the original owner. Just by luck, there’s an event to do this on Monday, at 5 p.m., at Asser Levy Park.
  • Remove any dangly bits you don’t want stolen and that can’t be locked up, including American flag bells.

And for the rest of us? If you see something, say something.