It was once common knowledge among New York City cyclists that if their bikes were stolen, the first place to look--and their best chance of getting them back--was on St. Mark's Place. At night, there was an open-air market of pilfered bicycles of just about every kind.
I don't know whether St. Mark's is still the Grand Bazaar of stolen bikes, but from what I'm hearing, the business of stolen bikes still operates in a remarkably covert fashion. I'm guessing the folks who steal and the ones who sell--who are often, though not always, the same people--know that losing anything without a motor and fewer than four wheels isn't high on the list of law enforcement priorities, whether because police the police don't have the resources or just don't care. Also, with Craigslist and other online sites, it's a lot easier to sell the fruits of one's illicit labor. Worse yet, some newer sites, like OfferUp, seem all but tailor-made for criminals.
One would think that with the proliferation of surveillance cameras, would-be crooks would be more reluctant to practice their dark arts. But, the electronic devices only seem to embolden some perps. Do they think they're going to become YouTube stars or something?
It seems that the situation is not unique to my hometown. What's changed, though, is that in Denver metro area and other places, victims or their allies are taking matters into their own hands. As an example, in nearby Fort Collins, cycling activist Dan Porter (who runs the website Your Group Ride) has "repossessed" two stolen bikes--including an $8000 machine he found leaning against a camper. He admits "it was a crazy thing to do" but getting the bike to its rightful owner was worth the effort and risk.
Her sentiments were echoed by a woman in the area who prefers anonymnity. She sets up aliases so she can perform "stings" on would-be sellers of bikes she finds on OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace. While some might question her and Porter's methods--especially their bypassing of the police, she offers this rationale: "At least if someone has their property back, I feel half of justice has been served."
She also has an explanation of one factor that fuels the illegal yet overt business: "The nice high-end bikes have become the 'scumbag currency' of town."
