Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on June 19, 2010 at 4:22am

FYI, you can make groups private. It was used for the Winter Bike Swap planning committee.... oh and my peace gang group :).

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 19, 2010 at 8:17am

Nice coverage. Unfortunately, it did made recovery efforts a bit too transparent.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 19, 2010 at 8:20am

That's the biggest reason why I wouldn't buy bikes or power tools in a place like Maxwell St. or Swap-o-rama. I'd hate to be encouraging thieves to victimize regular cyclists, hard-working contractors, or DIY people. We've all heard too many stories about people losing their rides. I also hate hearing about contractors (especially handymen who don't work for big companies) losing a whole truckful of tools to theft.

Thanks to all who have worked so hard to organize bike recovery efforts.

Michael Perz said:

Congratulations to all involved on a wonderful effort, but next time - and I hope that are at least a few next times - please PRESS CHARGES.

Receipt of stolen property is still very much a prosecutable crime.

Standing behind a table cluttered with used power tools, the man said he bought the bike for $100. He said he usually tries to sell them at a $100 or $150 profit. The vendor said he doesn't mind returning bikes if he finds out they're stolen.

Horses#!t. This vendor knows those bikes are all stolen, and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that most of the power tools on that table had missing tags as well. Having worked for a number of years at a company that supplied building trades I've heard more stories than I'd care to remember about contractors' vans being broken into and the contents turning up at Maxwell Street of similar markets. Most of the equipment, of course, had all the factory ID tags removed, and all the vendors "just bought them from someone" that they curiously did not know the identity of.

The biggest problem here is that this has been going on for so long that it's reached a level of acceptance and normalcy. Put these scumbags through the wringer. Let all the other vendors witness them being escorted out in handcuffs. Press charges and follow through. Show up at their court hearings if need be. I know some of this is asking a lot, but I can't imagine myself doing anything less if faced with this situation. Don't let the relief of getting your stolen property back combined with whatever empathy you may feel for people "just earning a living" lull you into complacency.

Mind you, that this isn't meant to be a critique of any of you. If anything it's an indictment of the shameful state our law enforcement system is in when having police follow up on property crimes turns out to be no small miracle, but that's a discussion for a different time and place.

I still salute you for the commendable action, guys and gals.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 19, 2010 at 9:40am

The scarier folks involved in the S-o-R operation would be afraid to come to my neighborhood . . .
I'm not going to lose any sleep but I'm disappointed in the article for reasons I've laid out in other places.

I'd like to remind anyone interested in problem-solving the bike theft problem to join and participate in the Chainlink Bike Theft Task Force group:

http://www.thechainlink.org/group/chainlinkbikethefttaskforce

Laura's solicitation for contacts is specifically for people who are 100% certain they are willing and able to get their butts out of bed early on a weekend morning and participate in a recovery mission.




Moc Artsy said:

OK, let's slowly sort through some of the problems with the Tribune story. Not only is the McDonald's outed as the "nerve center" of stolen bike recovery efforts, but Howard and others are identified by name and thechainlink.org is revealed as the online community where these efforts were organized. For those who were paranoid early on about anyone monitoring the site for information, they now know exactly where to go to do so, and I would remind everyone that they can--among other information--easily get Howard's telephone number by doing so. It may be somewhat unlikely that any of the people stealing the bikes will see this article, but the vendors are not only likely to see it, they are also likely to have someone come up to them at the Swap and say "hey, I read about the stolen bike stuff in the Tribune." As much as this may be great press, it has also rendered what might have been an effective stealth operation completely transparent. I would advise that Howard delete any posts with his phone number at the very least, and consider making the task force group closed discussions.

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