Problem Solved
In June, Gossips reported about a bike rack that had been installed at the Galvan Armory, positioned on the sidewalk in front of the building in such a way that, if used as intended by the manufacturer, the sidewalk would be totally obstructed.
After just a matter of hours, the bike rack was removed, by order of Hudson's code enforcement officer. Soon after, signs appeared affixed to the fence warning people against chaining bicycles there.
"Locks will be cut off without a warning" was no idle threat. One Gossips reader reported having two locks severed with tin snips wielded by a Galvan representative in one day.
Yesterday, Gossips learned of a new development in the Galvan Armory's accommodation for cyclists. A sign installed just across the alley from the armory (it appears in the picture below, just above the trash can) directs people seeking a bike rack down the alley.
More than midway to Short Street, another sign, this one over a dumpster, marks the location of the bike rack.
It appears that the bike rack is located where the Galvan Foundation plans to create a parking lot for the staff of COARC Starting Place, soon to be housed in the basement of the armory, so conditions surrounding the bike rack may improve in the future. For the present, though, it certainly seems that the Galvan Foundation is trying its best to discourage people from riding their bikes to the library.
Addendum: The bicycle that appears in two of the photographs accompanying this post was stolen last night, from in front of a house in the 500 block of State Street.
The theft has been reported to the Hudson Police Department, so if you find the bike or have any information about its whereabouts, please contact the HPD: 828-3388.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK
Sorry about the bike theft. One suggestion to bike riders is that they search for registration number on the bike and keep that in a safe place for just such occasions. I got my bike back, after more than a year on the lam, when its new "owner" brought it into Steiners to be repaired and an observant shopkeeper looked up the registration number: voila it was mine!.... And one small quibble: I don't think most bike locks can be removed with a "tin snips." Thanks, Carole, for the followup!
ReplyDeleteFrankly, Peter, I don't know what implement was used to cut the locks, but I liked the term "tin snips" and couldn't think of one I liked better. So I Googled "tin snips" and found descriptions and pictures of devices that in my opinion seemed wicked and powerful enough to do the job, so I went with it.
DeleteCarole, Google for "bolt cutter" and you'll find something much more "wicked and powerful." Obiviously, I don't know what kind of lock, if any, was on the bike, but I guarantee you that if a tin snips did the cutting job, then the lock was a bit underwhelming.
DeleteI would like to point out, since I am in fact the reader who had my bike lock snipped twice in one day, that neither time was the bike in an area that had a 'no bicycles here' sign on it.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your bike, John. But how does it get "snipped" twice in one day? Did they not steal it after the first snipping? Did you buy another lock? Just curious.
DeleteThe locks were snipped and the bike was left behind both times. Yes, I had purchased another lock. (No, I am not letting this go.)
DeleteUmmm. I've never heard of someone taking the trouble to cut the lock and not take the bike. Do you think it's a personal vendetta? Harassment? And I'm still curious what kind of lock(s) you had -- we need to straighten Carole out about how "wicked and powerful" a tin snips is.
DeletePeter--Didn't you read the original post? It was someone from Galvan, making good the threat on the signs: "Locks will be cut off without a warning."
DeleteCarole, the "original post" included a note that the bike had been "stolen," so I assumed that the lock snipping was related to stealing.
DeleteTwo different people, two different bikes, two different times in the sequence of events. The bike that was stolen was not stolen from the library. It was stolen from in front of a building in the 500 block of State Street.
Delete"The Friendly City" LOL
ReplyDelete