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Video: Thieves Axe Tree To Steal Cheap Brooklyn Bike
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 9, 2011
Modified Jun 9, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 9, 2011
Modified Jun 9, 2011
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Reddit user TenThousandSuns posted the video below, which shows a group of men in Kensington at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning chopping down a ginkgo tree with an axe, seemingly in order to steal a bike. The initial post was titled, "How far will NY thieves go to steal a $50 department store bike locked with a $10 cable lock? This far." It was followed by one with the security camera footage, "at 4x speed and 100x the rage", which you can see below. There are a lot of terrible aspects to the incident, but it's pretty pathetic that they go through with chopping down the tree, and then indifferently ride the bike for less than five seconds.
The poster notes the bike isn't his, because he keeps his "strictly indoors"—he says it is "one of those mass produced "dual-suspension mountain bikes" you see so often. Probably a hapless neighbor who didn't know any better. This is Kensington area in Brooklyn, but I can see this happening anywhere here, really." However, the tree was planted by his father, which is what makes the incident really hurt: "My dad co-paid with the landlord for the foresters to plan[t] this specific tree. I don't know if it's actually his legally, but it's definitely his in spirit...my dad really wanted that type of tree as allegedly it's very long lived. A legacy if you will. I'll pass your knowledge on."
Some Reddit users posit that maybe the whole point was only to chop down the tree—maybe they never really wanted the bike. But as the original poster says, the bike was eventually grabbed: "It was taken 30 minutes later by one of the dudes, I don't remember which." You can see a picture of the tree the morning after here.
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bike
brooklyn
cycle
ginko tree
kensington
thieves
tree
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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