Now that it's warm enough to bike, many locals can avoid the hassle of paying meters and looking for parking spots when they head to the train station. But, the risk for bike theft in the area may force cyclists to continue driving their cars in the morning.
Scott Brown, a legal professional who works in Manhattan, used to ride his bike to the Metro-North station until it was stolen on July 7. Brown said that he locked up his bike at about 8:10 a.m. But, when he returned to Pelham that evening, he said that his bike was gone.
Brown turned to local law enforcement to help solve the crime, but the Pelham Police Department told him that the MTA Police is actually responsible for these incidents.
“I was surprised to find out that it’s not the Pelham police’s jurisdiction," Brown said. "[The MTA] sent two officers over to take a report. Although they were very helpful and nice about it, they didn’t think my bike would be recovered."
Andrew Nagorski is another local resident who had his bicycle stolen from the train station. His bike went missing on March 17. But when Nagorski filed a report with the MTA, he was dismayed to learn that there wasn't much the officers could do to help him.
“The officer said I could do the report with him if I wanted to, but...it would immediately be buried in a pile," Nagorski remarked. "He said that the only real purpose of doing such a report was insurance."
Pelham used to maintain a bike registry so that if a police officer found a bike unattended, he could track the owner down and return it. However, this protective measure--which many towns in Westchester offer their residents--has been discontinued.
“I had my bike registered a few years ago when we had the program, but we don’t do it anymore,” said Officer Sheeny of the Pelham Police Department.
