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April 26, 2013– By Steven E Greer
In May of 2011, the Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) began confiscating bikes that had been abandoned chained to trees and posts throughout BPC. The best working theory as to why the bikes were left is that people moved away and either forgot about them, or did not want to transport them to new locations.
After approximately two years of this process, the PEP have collected more than 24 bikes in the basement of their facility on West Thames Street. There are no finalized plans as to what to do with them. Various legal issues have prevented charitable donations.
For anyone interested in a nice bike, they are encouraged to visit the PEP office and make a claim.
Update April 21, 2013
This is the latest in this epidemic of abandoned nice bikes. read below for the story. If anyone knows why this happens, please post a comment.
May 2, 2011
Rudy Giuliani is often credited with cleaning up New York City and reducing crime by following a “No broken windows” policy, meaning that allowing small levels of vandalism and petty crime leads to more serious crime. The equivalent of “broken windows” have popped up in Battery Park City: abandoned bikes.
Near the newly built West Thames “Tire Swing” Park are bicycle racks. There are now numerous stripped down carcasses of bikes locked to the racks that have not been removed. This area is governed and patrolled by the BPCA’s Parks Enforcement Patrols (PEPs) managed by Tess Huxley of the Parks Conservancy.
Allowing bikes to be scavenged by thieves attracts a criminal element to the residential community. The same thieves now know that the area is a target for other crime.
In addition to the neglect of the bicycle racks, the Parks Conservancy has played a role in the nearby expensive grass sod field being neglected and allowed to deteriorate into a mud field. BatteryPark.TV has previously reported on that issue.
Neither Tess Huxley nor the BPCA replied to our emails. A spokesperson for the DOT said that the bike wrack and sidewalk areas are not under their jurisdiction, but rather under the Parks Conservancy domain.
Update May 8, 2011
The PEPs have placed warning notices on the abandoned bikes.
May 16, 2011
The bikes removed
Keep it up,observation and sharing via image is commendable.
Not surprising from Tessa Huxley. When the BPC ballfields were originally discussed, she petulantly sneered at the youth leagues who told her that, while the leagues would love to play baseball and soccer on grass fields, the fields should be turf fields because of wear and tear. Her condescending attitude cost the Authority hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of wasted dollars, and the young players had years playing on inadequate fields.