Register Your Bike With The NYPD Monday Night

Pedal over to Asser Levy Park, at Sea Breeze Avenue and Surf Avenue, tonight, Monday, July 13 from 6-7pm to register your ride with the NYPD. Officers from the 60th Precinct will be engraving bicycles with a unique serial number to help them return stolen bikes to their owners.

“Having your bike registered with the local police precinct is an extra tool for you to protect your property. In the event that it is lost or stolen the police can easily identify the bike’s rightful owner through the ID number assigned to the bike,” said City Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who is co-hosting the event along with members of Flatbush Shomrim.

Police etch a three-digit number, to indicate the precinct it where it was registered, followed by four digits that identify the bike’s owner. The registration helps the NYPD more easily identify and recover stolen bicycles.

As bike ridership in New York City has steadily increased, according to figures provided by the Department of Transit, bike thefts are also on the rise. Gothamist reports that bicycle thefts in New York City increased by almost 70 percent between 2011 and 2014, according to figures provided by the NYPD’s Legal Affairs Bureau.

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, chairman of the Committee on Transportation, has introduced legislation that would add a $500 to $1,000 civil fine for bicycle theft, which would come on top of already existing criminal penalties.

For more information on tonight’s bike etching, contact Councilman Deutsch’s district office at 718-368-9176.