Here Is Where Your Long Beach Stolen Bike Went

At the Southern tip of the bike trail that runs along the Los Angeles River is the Golden Shores RV Resort in Long Beach, California. The resort is fenced in. Between the fence and the actual LA River bike trail sits a shallow ravine lined with municipally planted trees. In that ravine there is a homeless encampment. There have been homeless encampments in the ravine all along the LA River bike trail for some time. Perhaps more in the last three or four years as housing prices have soared in the South Bay. The exact location is: 33.766528, -118.204500 https://www.google.com/maps/pl...

In this particular encampment, on the other side of the fence from the graffiti covered utility buildings that service the Golden Shores RV Resort, is what I suspect to be a stolen bicycle chop shop. The only evidence I have for my suspensions are the piles of bicycles and bicycle parts that surround the tents of the encampment. https://bit.ly/StolenBikeEncam...

I’m not the only one who believes these bicycles are stolen. On Friday, October 1, 2021 between 7:30am and 8:30am I came across two City of Long Beach workers who were posting signs on the cement wall along the LA River bike route warning homeless people about an impending cleanup. Both were men. They were wearing City of Long Beach orange shirts and they were driving a City of Long Beach white, not lime green, pick up truck. One appeared to be an African American man in his 50s who was thin and had grey in his beard/mustache and the other appeared to be a White man in his late 30s who was on the a little bit doughy side with a tinge of red in his hair.

I interrupted their work and posed this question: “Gentlemen, can you tell me if there is a process whereby you can identify the bicycles you confiscate from down the path at that encampment if any of the bicycles are licensed?”

The older man answered and here is, paraphrased, what he told me. He said he himself was frustrated
as a bicycle rider because there is very little they can do. He said they inquired about this with the police and were told the following . . . That if one part on the bicycle was different than described on the license, it could not positively be identified as the same bicycle that had the license. And therefore it could not be returned to the owner. He said “There’s little we can do even though we know they did not purchase all those bikes they have down there.” (that part is a direct quote and not a paraphrase). He said if the bicycle has different wheels or different handlebars than the ones that should be on the model identified in the license it is not considered the same bicycle.

So I said “My bicycle is licensed. Do I have to get a tool marker and inscribe the license number on every single part of my bicycle, the wheels, the seat the handlebars, etc.?” His answer was that he did not have the answer to my question.

I came home and wrote a letter to the City Prosecutor, Mr. Haubert, and to the Long Beach Police Chief, Mr. Luna posing the questions to them. You can read a copy of my letter at (if you’re reading before 4pm on Oct 2, 2021 it might be in draft form) https://bit.ly/StolenBikeLetterOct2nd2021.

I don’t think the encampment will be there much longer. On Saturday October 1st when I went to take photographs of it there were three people milling about. A Latino man, a Black man and a Black woman. Understandably they looked at me with some suspicion as I took photos. The Latino man asked me “Hey, why you taking pictures?”. I defiantly responded “What’s it to you? You’re not in them.” . He responded that I needed permission to take a person’s photo and I told him “That’s true. If I were taking photos of humans I would need their permission. I”m taking photos of stuff.” And I kept on snapping. He then said they would be gone next week. I’m guessing that was less due to my picture taking than due to the notice stating that the clean up was going to happen on 10/15/21.

Once the clean up is over the homeless encampments will eventually return like they always do, Capitalism being what it is. The very same people may even return to the very same spots and continue stealing bikes. I could get upset about it but everyone has to make their paper, even down on their luck marginalized thieves. For my part I’d like to recover my bike if it does end up getting nabbed or outfit it in some way that makes it less likely to be a target for nabbing. To that end, I’m calling on my public servants. I am asking the Long Beach Chief of police and the City Prosecutor to come up with some sort of process/or policy whereby, in situations like this (because I am positive this is not the only chop shop), the stolen bicycles can be returned even if they have been “chopped”.

But I am only one person. Action will only be taken on this issue if many, many people call on the public servants to address this issue. That is why I am sharing this information on social media. I’m hoping Long Beach bicycle enthusiasts will contact Chief Luna and City Prosecutor Haubert and tell them the following:

“ I want your departments to come up with some sort of process/or policy whereby, in situations where masses of bicycles are recovered from suspected bicycle chop shops, the stolen bicycles can be returned even if they have been “chopped”.”

You can fax, email call or write the City Prosecutor Doug Haubert
Mailing Address
411 West Ocean Blvd., 8th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802-4681
office: (562) 570-5600 · fax: (562) 570-7140

You can email the Long Beach Police Department Property Detail at
LBPDProperty@longbeach.gov

You can quote tweet my tweet thread about this and tag Doug Haubert @doughaubert1 and the Long Beach Police Department @LBPD
https://twitter.com/AdreanaInL...

You can share my Facebook post and tag Doug Haubert https://www.facebook.com/doughaubert
https://www.facebook.com/Adrea...

You can share my post on Nextdoor.com about this with your neighbors and ask them to also contact Chief Luna and Doug Haubert
https://nextdoor.com/p/42b_H4_...