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Is Someone Stealing "Ghost Bike" Memorials And Selling Them On Craigslist?
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 30, 2012
Modified Jan 30, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 30, 2012
Modified Jan 30, 2012
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A tipster spotted this "for sale" post(see below) on Craigslist, from someone claiming to have removed over two dozen white bikes that were locked up around town. The ad, which offers 30 of the bikes for $3,200, does not explicitly acknowledge that these bikes are memorials to cyclists killed in accidents. So it seems whoever posted it is pretending to be astonishingly oblivious—most of the memorials have a small plaque with the name of the biker who was killed, so it's hard to imagine anyone not understanding their purpose. On the other hand, the ad could be some sort of trolling fake Craigslist post meant to outrage the cyclist community. Either way, it's pretty despicable.
Multiple emails sent to the email associated with the posting were not returned. We contacted Leah Todd, one of the organizers of the Ghost Bike memorials, to see if she knows anything about a rash of Ghost Bike thefts, and we'll update when we hear back. Two years ago, when a Ghost Bike memorial for Solange Raulston went missing, Todd told us, "On occasion the city will remove a memorial if it's in a park or blocking street facilities, like lighting. If there are complaints, say from a business, it might be removed, too. It varies depending on the locals."
Tagged
bike for sale
craigslist
cyclists
ghost bike
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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