BEWARE: Bike Vandals living on 5th street...I shall not be bullied!
Hello fellow Slopers, it is with heavy heart that I am writing this post regarding the bicycle vandal that lives on 5th street between 8th ave and Prospect Park West. Although I am 85% sure of who has vandalized my bicycle I shall refrain from posting his/her exact name and building number until I am 100%sure and the police arrest them.
How do I know who has vandalized my bicycle? Well allow me to explain. 2 months ago I was approached by a young lady about me chaining my bicycle around a tree on the specific block. The tree in front of her home to be exact. Although the conversation started on a happy note it quickly turned sour when she demanded I stop placing my bicycle on the now infamous. A the conversation became heated her husband came out his home and basically screamed at me to "STOP" chaining my bicycle around the tree in front of their home. He gave me a threatening stare, made a derogatory statement about my sexual preference and dragged his wife inside.
Before my fellow Slopers attack me let me say that I chain my bike around the tree with extreme caution. Not only is the chain I used covered with a cushy plastic material it also is chained on the tree with an unusual amount of slack. To be honest their is a lot of play between the tree and my bike and when I chain it up every night the bike appears like it is just leaning on the tree. Beside my blatant rainbow stickers adorning the frame of my bicycle I can not understand for the life of me what they find so offensive about my actions.
The above being stated I will further state that a month ago I returned to my secured bicycle to find that my bicycle seat was smothered in peanut butter and jelly. When I say smothered, I mean extremely smothered. I had no choice but to throw the entire seat away. I didn't think anything of it and chalked it up to some childish stunts by local punks. Who would of thought that my neighbors were descended from Mussolini himself for the vandalism continued.
1 week ago the vandal got brazen and loosened all the bolts on my bicycle. You can imagine my shock when i grabbed my bike and all the parts started to move this way and that. Hell, the pedals even fell off. Once more I chalked it up to a local A-hole and tightened the parts on my bike and went about my daily chores but something told me that the couple from hell had something to do with this.
Yesterday the final straw was applied to my back and it snapped like a twig. I got to my bicycle and the new seat was smothered in mayonnaise but this time there was a note attached to the bike. Would you believe that the vandal even laminated the note so as to keep the message nice and dry for me. Along with the note was a PB&J, a Mayonnaise jar label and a crude rainbow sticker. Obviously it was the same culprit. The note read as follows:
DO NOT CHAIN YOUR BIKE ON THIS TREE OR ANY OTHER!!!!!
DO WE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER NOW, RAINBOW BRIGHT????????
The local authorities were called but they only served to mock me as they took a useless report. I was assured a detective would be assigned to my case but I know better. I explained to them that I think I was being targeted because of my sexual orientation but they brushed me off and told me that there was no proof of that.
Why do I post this on this forum? Well I want to warn my neighbors of this insidious anti bicycle, anti gay couple who live on the block. They seem intent on bullying me but I assure you I will not cave to these Gestapo type tactics. As of today I have placed my Bamboo framed bicycle in storage unit and started using a cheapo bicycle I picked up a stoop sale. I stripped all the nuts on the bike thus making it almost impossible to loosen any parts on it. I understand that I might be courting trouble but I was taught always stand up to oppression.
If it is war the want by golly it is passive war they will get. I only hope that people will understand my motives when they come across my bicycle.
Thank you.
Comments
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Okay, I'll take the bait.
Trees are living things. Its bad to chain items to living things.
Chain your bike to something inanimate, like inside your gate, or to gates attached to your home, or to a bike rack. There are tons of bike racks along 7th Avenue including several at 5th Street.
Or, take your bike indoors, where it doesn't need to be chained at night to anything.
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Plus they apparently misspelled "Rainbow Brite". Sheesh.
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Say, something I have wanted to ask for a while now, and this seems like a good thread. I know this isn't what the OP is doing, but what's up with all the derelict bike frames that seemed to be chained to signs and the like for months at a time? Who locks up a bike and then just forgets about it?
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Drano-
I've always imagined that the bikes stripped of their wheels, etc while the owner is asleep in their apartment.Upon discovering the situation, the owner swears, and then thinks to themselves that they will someday replace the missing parts.
...but s/he never does. And each day more parts disappear.
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Homeowner, I know trees are living things and being such I explained how I have gone out of my way to respect the trees by giving them enough slack in the chain to grow freely. Yes I understand there are a ton of racks on 7th ave but we are talking about a Bamboo framed bike and frankly I feel better looking out my window and having line of sight on my property. Bike indoors? You obviously do not live in the area. The size of my apt is not big enough to accommodate my bicycle. It needs to be chained up because this city is full of thieves. When I lived in Vermont a chain was never required.
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First off I'm sorry your bike got vandalized. I can only imagine how much it must suck! But why did you not simply move your bike when the lady asked you to? A little common courtesy on your part could have prevented the whole thing.
It's my understanding the only three things you can't lock your bike to legally in this city are 1. trees, 2. MTA property, 3. Private property with marked signs asking you not to. Even with a covered chain the lock will still damage the tree's bark which could lead to disease and death for the tree. While I agree those assholes sound homophobic you should have just moved your bike. Actually the only safe place for your bike at night or ever is inside your apartment.
Drano often times what happens is the owner of the bike sees how damaged and vandalized the bike is and decides simply to abandon it.Often times a thief will only gut a bike if they can't cut the lock. And since some of the stronger locks might require a full rotary saw to remove it could be a very long time until the abandoned bike is removed.
Update: TrendPotter if your locking your bike to a tree your not respecting it. I live in a small studio and I have made room for my bike quite comfortably. Even my friends with roommates have made room for their bike inside. Have you considered getting a wall mounted hook for it? Because I live in NYC I carry a chain and a u-lock around with me whenever I'm on my bike. As you say this isn't Vermont.
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Penut and Jelly- ELVIS IS IN THE HOOD!
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What you guys say makes sense, but damn then just unlock the thing so thieves can carry off the rest or sell the thing for scrap. There are some real eyesores on my block, some have been there so long the sidewalk underneath is a nice rust color. As to the issue at hand - TrendPotter I wouldn't go on a mayonnaise wasting, insult hoisting rampage, but I would probably be irritated by someone chaining a bike to a tree in front of my building. I'd say something about it, definitely.
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Newguy, I understand what you are telling me and I respect your view point but I assure you I am not hurting the tree one bit. If my bike is leaning on the bark then so be it but I assure you that one of God's toughest and most resilient creations will not die just because my bicycle is leaning on it.
As for my apartment being able to accommodate my bicycle, I assure you that I am the judge of what fits in my abode. Once more I will say with certainty that my bike will not fit comfortably in my apt without me tripping over it.
Before my fellow Slopers label me an uncaring twit I will once more reiterate that the tree is given enough slack on the chain to assure that it is not interfering with its growth. The chain literally lays on the ground merely touching the bike and the ground. If I could explain the visuals it looks like there is a hula hoop around the tree.
Trust me when I say the tree is doing fine. Also trust me when i say I do not bow down to oppression. Your advice for me to tuck my tale between my legs and take my bike elsewhere is a notion that is totally alien to me. I am not a person that believes in turning the other cheek. There is not one defeatist bone in my body so please stop asking me to move my bike elsewhere. They cast the first stone and it is high time someone stood up to them on principality alone. -
Darno have you tried calling 311? I know the city will eventually cut the bikes down. But maybe a 311 call would help?
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They're not harassing you because of your sexuality or stickers on your bike, they're harassing you because your bike is consistently chained to their tree. And your attitude sucks. It's not about being defeated, it's about being semi-civilized and neighborly. A sane person would think, "hey, this doesn't make sense to me because I'm so very sure the tree isn't being harmed, but whatever, there are other places I can chain my bike." Did Vermont kick you out for being needlessly aggressive?
Now that you've helpfully told the internets where you insist on chaining up your bike I wonder if other people will get involved. Maybe some dog walkers? :-00
Your abode must be teeny. So many NYC-ers over the decades have managed to put their bikes inside, even if it's hung from the ceiling. We have one in our bedroom, not quite the ambiance I would prefer but what are you going to do? Oh, that's right, start an unneeded neighbor war and make the police laugh at you. Welcome to NYC.
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Just get a battery operated grinder. Cut thru the frame or the lock (whichever is easiest), then bring it to the curb next trash day.
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Tateinbk, way to go at victimizing the victim. So let me get this straight...You are saying that I got what i deserved because i do not respect my gay bashing neighbors and the trees in the neighborhood? Are you condoning what happened to my bike?
Amazing! Utterly Amazing!
According to you I am uncivilized even though my bicycle has been vandalized numerous times. Mind you, I know who did this but then again I am the uncivilized brute for not taking my bike and going elsewhere. I am obviously a bigger brute for standing up to this form of tyranny but alas the true culprits are saints in your dysfunctional world.
WOW!....SMDH!
Well, I will not waste my time engaging you in tit for tat banter because you obviously have a warped sense of thinking. Perhaps all those years of turning the other cheek have caused you to lose all sense of reality. According to you I should ignore the vandalism and the anti gay rhetoric just to appease the integrity of these two brutes and their tree loving ways.
once again i must say ....AMAZING!
I never knew a person could be so rude and obtuse at the same time. Thank you for the revelation.
Good day, kind sir and might I suggest you come down from that soapbox before you get a nose bleed.BTW, just because I choose not to live within a cubicle sized apt with a strung up bicycle from the the ceiling does not make me any less a civilized person. I, unlike you, like ample space to roam about my abode. Besides a bike hanging from a living room ceiling is tacky in my book. I apologize if this applies to you.
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First off, I am as queer as a $3 bill, a bike-riding/loving, dog owning, park sloper. And simply put, chaining a bike to a tree is simply not cool in a city full of street signs, bike racks, and other crap adorning our city streets. I'm sorry they decided to single out the queerness in you, but people in the heat of the moment say stupid shit. It's life in NYC. Homophobes they are, but I support their fight against your bike and the tree. Respect the green, you're from VT fer goddsake! And as another poster mentioned, what you are doing is illegal in NYC. Period.
http://www.bikenewyork.org/advice/nyc-info/locking-your-bike/
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ParkSlpegay, I hate to sound like a broken record but here I go again. The chain is not touching the tree. The only part of the tree being touched is where the bike leans on the tree. I can not understand why so many Slopers are assuming that my chain is choking the tree. The same people attacking me ignore the concrete that obviously strangles the very roots of the same tree and stunts its growth. Instead of saving a tree at its core by campaigning against the effects of sidewalk concrete on tree roots some here find it a far worth while cause to fight the oh so evil affects of bamboo bicycles leaning on a tree. Oh yes surely this form of unadulterated evil must be stopped at all costs.
I think I see the true problems here. It seems I am a renter while these hate mongers are owners of their own townhouse. Or maybe just maybe it boils down to tree lovers vs bike lovers. Either way I do not understand why the attacks are aimed solely at me when in fact these purveyors of hate are coddled amongst the very community that builds itself on human pride.
Let's just say that I moved my bicycle tonight, I sense that some of you would just call it a night and consider the situation cured. You would act as if being targeted for being gay is nothing to report. It must be nice to choose your causes at will.
Most of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
How do you even manage to sleep at night knowing that this sort of behavior is festering in your very community. Perhaps I should just bury my head in the sand and ignore it like most of you seem to be doing. The discomfort of the tree actually warrants more attention than the discrimination of a person of a different sexual orientation.
AMAZING AND GOODNIGHT! -
Trendpotter,
A year ago you had a similar problem with your car:
http://brooklynian.com/forum/park-slope/parking-wars-and-rude-neighborsLooks like you have no luck with your neighbors.
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It sounds like you think rules do not apply to you. They asked you to stop locking the bike to their tree and you keep doing it. I don't get it. I also think there is always room for a bike in a small apt. I had 4 bikes at one point when I lived in a studio in Manhattan.
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you may feel that you are not doing any harm to the tree, but i have seen thieves do plenty of harm to trees while stealing bikes, including breaking the tree trunk on small delicate trees. your gayness is not being bashed, they are just trying to get under your skin because you will not obey the law and/or stop parking there. its not all about you.
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As a homeowner, you are responsible for the a sidewalk tree that is front of your home, and tree maintenance and liability isn't always cheap. It sucks that they did that, but I'd just move on and find somewhere else to chain it. They clearly aren't going to let it go, and I imagine you'll just end up upsetting yourself more if you keep at them. I'm pretty sure there's nothing the cops can do here, and finding a new place to chain your bike can easily end your troubles. They sound petty and immature, and you will never get anywhere with someone like that.
You don't know what they may have been through with others doing things that can harm the tree and they have to look at it and maybe get around it ( doesn't that block have really narrow sidewalks?). I'm not saying it's justification for what they did, but they may be already really worked up about this and you're aren't going to change their minds.
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Um wow.... just wow!
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Best thread in months!
also lol @ victim mentality here. They don't like what you are doing so they are automatically homophobes. hahaha man just stop it and move your bike somewhere legal.
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taruca said:
Trendpotter,A year ago you had a similar problem with your car:
http://brooklynian.com/forum/park-slope/parking-wars-and-rude-neighborsLooks like you have no luck with your neighbors.
I had forgotten that thread!
TrendPotter
Posted +YEAR Ago
rookie newb
Joined: Sep '11
Posts: 20Greetings to everyone on this board:
I will cut right to the chase and say that I have a neighbor on my street who owns a beautiful townhouse. She is a very proud home owner which one can tell by the way she keeps her immaculate mini garden. We have have been neighbors for about 3 years and we would occasionally greet each other with a good morning or a good afternoon when we happened upon each other.
The problem started when my car basically broke down in front of her home. When I say it broke down in front of her home I say that it just would not start. This problem has plagued me for about 2weeks and I would sit in my car and wait for sanitation to come by in order avoid an alternate side of the street parking ticket. At this point the sanitation guys know who I am and they basically drive around me and wave.
By week 1 the pleasant good mornings from my neighbor turned into questions revolving around when I was going to move the car. At first I was puzzled because last I was aware street parking was public. My neighbor explained to me t hat the spot in front of her home belonged to her and that I should move my car. I tried to explain to her that my brother(a mechanic by trade) would be coming in from Vermont and that he would fix my car. I further explained that I did not have the money to have my car towed to a garage. By the beginning of week 2 I told her that it would be moved as soon as possible but this was not good enough for her.
By the end of week 2 she was calling 311 on my car but I suspect that the police told her (saw the police checking my car) that there was nothing she could do about it unless I was illegally parked. Yesterday she actually stopped the sanitation sweeper and demanded I get a summons which the operator refused(thank god). This morning I came to my car and the below nasty note was placed under my windshield wiper.
I will be honest and say that I am at my wits end with this woman and part of me wants to leave the car there indefinitely so as to prove a point. I am originally from Vermont and I have never heard about the spot in front of your house being owned by the property owner right in front of it. I am hoping this is the last nasty letter she leaves on my car because if I get one more I will have her arrested for harassment.Just to be clear my car is not an eyesore and it is a well kept 2003 Camry. There is no reason she would want my car moved from in front of her house unless of course she wanted the spot for herself.
Sorry for the long winded first post but I needed to vent. Thanks for lending an ear.
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Vermont has nice mountains.
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Thank you for posting my old post, Mamacita for I am not as computer savvy as I would like to be. Truth be told, the culprits from both events are the same people. I will be honest and say that the car was eventually moved and things got back to normal. We treated each other like "persona non Grata" and basically ignored each other for about a year. Time heals all wounds and we returned to exchanging good mornings and good afternoons but as you can see they exposed their fangs and their true colors came forth once again.
Eventually the whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth and I got rid of my car once and for all. I decided to use mass transit in the winter and use my bicycle in the spring and fall but like clock work these bullies decided to harp on me for different reasons. I finally came to the conclusion that I could do no right in their eyes and in fact it was my sexual orientation and not my actions that always put me in their cross hairs. This became blatantly clear when they labeled me with the name "Rainbow Bright". It is obviously derogatorily aimed at me due to my sexual openness.
This is the sort of neighbor I have to deal with but alas I have been judged to be the true problem by most of my peers on this forum and frankly I do not care. As a gay woman I am proud of who I am and what I represent and owe no one any apology. I will not tone down my gayness for any neighbor. Advice be damned I will not allow these people to bully me again. A stand has to be taken and the line has been drawn. All that remains is to judge the actions of all those involved and to choose a side.
Slopeduder, you obviously are not an educated man. Anyone that persecutes you and harasses you for no other reason than your sexual orientation is in my book a "homophobe".
Yes I am queer and and I am here...GET USED TO IT!
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Haha, I'm taking this bait, can't resist. Yes, an uneducated buffoon that is smart enough to realize hey, maybe I should just move my bike to a legal spot and bring this petty problem to a rapid conclusion instead of whipping myself into a senseless frenzy and rushing to the internet with my tale of personal holocaust and persecution and die from an aneurism before I hit 40.
I'm there, I don't care... I like my steaks medium rare.
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TrendPotter said:
As a gay woman I am proud of who I am and what I represent and owe no one any apology. I will not tone down my gayness for any neighbor. Advice be damned I will not allow these people to bully me again. A stand has to be taken and the line has been drawn. All that remains is to judge the actions of all those involved and to choose a side.Slopeduder, you obviously are not an educated man. Anyone that persecutes you and harasses you for no other reason than your sexual orientation is in my book a "homophobe".
Yes I am queer and and I am here...GET USED TO IT!
Um so no one this forum is actually persecuting you for orientation. In fact your the only person bringing it up. I don't see why we have to get used to it since it appears to pretty much be a non issue. When has anyone here asked you to apologize for anything?
After reading this I see you do really have a problem with this neighbor. Quite frankly I don't see a way for you to repair your relationship with them. If I were in your shoes I'd move once my lease is up and work on being a better neighbor at your next place. I know your going to probably throw this advice back at me but this leads me to my next point.
Why are you on this forum? If you came here to rant fair enough. But why are you attacking the people who post offering advice? Surly you know that's what we do on this forum?
SlopeDuder said:
I'm there, I don't care... I like my steaks medium rare.Good man!
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A steak in Vermont would be awesome.
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