bike theft

John Taranu, volunteer of the Bike Union, provides some tips in helping to reduce bike theft. John also introduces the isthisbikestolen.com app created at the Random Hacks of Kindness / Open Data Hackathon on December 5-6 in Toronto. It lets you check if the bike you're buying has been stolen.

More on fighting bike theft, see bikeunion.to/theft

How to find the serial number of a bike:

How to register a bike:

Photo of errant cyclists by Tino.

Even in the obscure corners that this blog occupies, we hear people enthusiastic about legislating cycling. Writing this post really feels like beating a dead horse long after its been buried and then exhumed and then beaten again. A small segment of the population remains enthusiastic about legislating cyclists and/or bicycles, so I feel a strong need to cover this territory again.

Toronto has studied the issue of mandatory licensing for cyclists a few times already. Each time the city's staff have studied the issue and come to the conclusion that it would be difficult to implement; and won't meet the assumed goals. The proponents aren't even clear on the means, whether it be licensing for cyclists or registration fees for bicycles or both, so the report has had to make guesses about the intentions and means.

What is the purpose of legislating cyclists? How is helping anyone? Let's look at the stated goals and see if they justify the means.

Make cyclists pay their fair share

Coming up this Thursday is the community discussion on bike theft. The event is tied in with the KENK graphic novel that's made a splash over the news. Everyone likes to focus on a big personality like Igor who loved the attention, regardless of whether it was positive or negative. The truth is that bike theft still takes place and the guys who went around stealing bikes are still as active as ever.

The discussion will take place this Thursday, June 3, 2010, 8 - 10 pm at CineCycle (129 Spadina Ave - just south of Richmond and down the lane)

The confirmed panelists include:

• Richard Goddard, Moderator (CBC)
• Richard Poplak (Writer, KENK: A Graphic Portrait)
• Yvonne Bambrick (Toronto Cyclists Union)
• Eric Kamphof (Curbside Cycle)
• Herb van den Dool (IBikeTO.ca)
• Robert Tajti (14 Division Planner & Technical Coordinator, Toronto Police)

There is a suggested admission of $5* where proceeds will go to the bike union and Cinecycle.

Out of curiousity I dropped by the Kenk graphic novel launch party last night. To my surprise, while ordering a beer, I saw Igor Kenk nursing a glass of water (or vodka?) at the bar. He was decked out in the very "I'm Tired" shirt that graces the cover of the book, which seems to encapsulate his world-weary attitude of profligate North American consumerism, while he also profited from it.

The Cadillac Lounge was packed with people but I saw only one other cycling advocate there, suggesting the topic is not the highest priority for them, at least not on a Thursday night. We will see later on this month at the bike theft forum hosted by the publishers (where I'll also get to gab on about my own views on bike theft and Kenk).

One guy, who had seemingly arrived not knowing it was the Kenk event, was steaming mad at the "celebration" for Igor, telling me that he had three bikes stolen and had visited the big warehouse after Igor's arrest to look for his bikes. He didn't find them and asked me "Who remembers their serial numbers?!" I replied "I wrote mine down, but I'm a bike nerd." When I mentioned that Igor had graced us with his presence he went off looking for him to give him a piece of mind or fist (I hope he didn't encounter Igor's "martial arts").

There did seem to be some fawning going on, or at the least, a voyeuristic urge to find out more about the inner workings of Igor (see a photo of Igor talking to some of the voyeurs - I'm just out of the camera's frame, thank god).

A former neighbour, Dexter - a modern day beatnick in appearance - informed me that he had lived right near Igor's original shop at Queen and Ossington, back when he was "legit". "We used to play chess together." At this point Igor was talking to some the voyeurs and I encouraged Dexter to go get his book signed by Igor. I listened in as they promised to play chess together again soon, and found out that Igor felt that his happy situation from being forced to sell his building for $700,000 was tempered with some brutal time in prison. He claimed he was beaten by 10 guys upon arriving, but that after that initial beating, he said he was able to hold them off with his martial arts skill, even in his injured state. Or something like that.

Igors stories and dramatic lifestyle are the core of what draw people to him. They know he's a criminal (even though a CBC story claims he was an 'ordinary guy' who saw a loophole in the law). Even if only 50% of his stories were true, they would still be fascinating. At this point I felt I had to leave since I too was clearly tipping onto the side of uncritical fandom.

Igor is a petty criminal dealing in stolen goods and drugs. Like Richard Poplak said in the NOW, Igor was a Robin Hood who stole from everyone and sold to whomever.

There will be a launch party for the graphic novel on Igor Kenk, aptly called KENK. (I'll be on the panel for the subsequent panel discussion on bike theft and Igor Kenk, taking place at the end of May). Details about launch party below:

Thurs. May 6th, 2010 - 7:00pm 'til late

@ The Cadillac Lounge
1296 Queen St West
(includes back patio)

ADMISSION IS FREE

Presented by Pop Sandbox, TCAF, Hot Docs, The CFC Media Lab, TCHAD Magazine, NOW Magazine & Steam Whistle

Come celebrate the release of KENK at our official Hot Docs and Toronto Comic Arts Festival launch event, in partnership with the CFC Media Lab. The entire creative team will be on hand to celebrate the release and do a special short presentation as well as display original artwork, animation and more. This event will go 'til late.

KENK will be available for purchase on-site from Type Books.

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KENK: A Graphic Portrait is a ground-breaking 304-page journalistic comic book detailing the life and times of Igor Kenk, “the world’s most prolific bicycle thief” (The New York Times and The Guardian). In summer 2008, Kenk was arrested and nearly 3,000 bicycles were seized in one of the biggest news stories of the year. Built from more than 30 hours of never-before-seen intimate footage taken over the year leading up to his arrest, KENK is a thought-provoking and surprisingly funny portrait of an outsize neighbourhood figure and a city in flux.

During Bike Month, Pop Sandbox and I Bike T.O. present a moderated forum, June 3, 8-10 pm at CineCycle, on bicycle theft and Igor Kenk in Toronto, tied-in with the release of KENK: A Graphic Portrait in May.

The discussion will almost certainly be focused on Igor Kenk, one of the more interesting characters in Toronto. Buyer of stolen bikes, hoarder, scrappy immigrant from socialist East Europe, critic of consumer society: Kenk was all of this and more. We must note, however,that bike theft didn't start and end with Kenk. New folks arrive to fill the gap left.

Admission is $5 with money going towards the Toronto Cyclists Union and CineCycle. Full information about the event will be posted on I BIke T.O.

Confirmed panelists include:

• Richard Goddard, Moderator (CBC)
• Richard Poplak (Writer, KENK: A Graphic Portrait)
• Yvonne Bambrick (Toronto Cyclists Union)
• Eric Kamphof (Curbside Cycle)
• Herb van den Dool (IBikeTO.ca)
• Additional Panelist TBA

CineCycle, located at behind the 401 Richmond building, is a great space for watching cycling and classic films.

Update: In a curious development, Kenk, who has been released from jail, showed up at the Cabbagetown Youth Centre to offer his services in rebuilding some of the bikes. Approximately 2000 of the bikes were donated to the youth centre to be given to at-risk youth. Kenk claims he's the only one who can piece together all the bikes: “The bikes will not be fit and there’s nothing to make them fit. They’re dreaming,” he said. “These 2,000 bikes are going to be thrown out to poor kids, unsafe, and it’s not going to be good at all.” There's a grain of truth in that: the youth centre will have their work cut out for them to organize the building of these bikes into functional, safe machines.

Igor Kenk has plead guilty to bike theft and drug possession. Here's the detail: he's plead guilty to just 10 bikes out of the original 48 that he was charged with by the Crown to keep the court case manageable. Charges against his wife Jeanie Chung were dropped. Igor has only 4 months left to serve of this sentence, but still has to face separate assault charges. There's no word yet on when the 2200 bicycles will be auctioned off.

Dressed in gray jeans and sweater, his long hair and beard disheveled, Igor Kenk, 50, stood in provincial court at Old City Hall and admitted 10 counts of possession of stolen property – 10 bicycles worth under $5,000.

He also pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of cocaine and one of marijuana.

He declined Justice Kathleen Caldwell's invitation to make a statement.

He must now serve an additional four months in jail on top of the time he has already spent in pretrial custody. The total sentence was 30 months.

According an agreed statement of facts, on July 16, 2008 police witnessed a man called Jean Laveau cut a bike free from its lock with bolt cutters and take it to Kenk, who reached into a fanny pack to retrieve some cash, which he gave to Laveau.

Laveau then walked to another locked bike, again cutting it free.

Police arrested Kenk and Laveau.

Photo: zandersaar.

The 2200 bikes, 2 pickups and the house on Queen West which the police had impounded from Igor Kenk are headed to the auction block. Kenk made a deal with the Crown to allow the Crown to keep the proceeds from the sale of the bikes and pickups, with Igor keeping the proceeds from the house after the Crown has taken its legal costs. If Kenk had not made a deal in the government's lawsuit, the Crown could have confiscated all his property under the Civil Remedies Act.

The 50-year-old bike repairman and self-described recycler is in the Toronto (Don) Jail, awaiting trial on almost 80 theft and drug charges. He's also in the midst of an assault trial.

Under the agreement, the province keeps the proceeds from the sale of the bikes, bike parts and his 1998 and 2001 pickup trucks.

But after his building is sold – less deductions for property management and sale costs, and after outstanding hydro, tax and other arrears are paid – the remaining money will be divided thus:

$50,000 for the Crown.

$65,000 for Legal Aid Ontario, to defray the costs of Kenk's criminal defence.

The remainder to be put in trust for Kenk by his lawyer.