I'm sorry, but what? Do you seriously believe that there's some kind of omnipotent bike theft ring in NYC, poaching bikes as soon as they're locked up?

I rode my bike to high school (in a "bad" neighborhood) regularly, and locked it outside with a regular cable lock. It was never stolen. When I got a job, I locked my bike up with the same cable lock for months, until I got access to the bike room. Never stolen.

Bike theft does happen here; I know people who have had bikes stolen. But it's not particularly common, even given the rise in expensive e-bikes.

You’re either woefully confused, blatantly lying, or have lived an incredibly and uniquely sheltered existence in some sort of enclave of wealth and privilege.

> Do you seriously believe that there's some kind of omnipotent bike theft ring in NYC, poaching bikes as soon as they're locked up?

Literally yes. Do you even actually live in NYC?

Does Bloomingdale count as an “enclave of wealth and privilege”? It wasn’t considered the safest neighborhood when I was growing up, but it’s considered very safe now. I don’t know what to tell you: I went to public schools here, have rode my bike my whole life, have rode the subway independently my entire life, &c. &c.. The “worst” thing that’s happened to me is being bugged for money on the street.

I’m not blind to some advantages I have: I’m tall, have a large frame, and a deep voice. But I was also a little kid for the first 18 years I was here, and nothing bad ever happened to me.

Yes, I really do live here. And yes, there are bike theft rings. But they’re not omnipotent, and they’re fundamentally opportunistic; I’ve never had any issues with any bike I’ve owned being stolen, and neither has anybody else in my family.

If Bloomingdale is the same Bloomingdale Google Maps tells me is in the middle of Manhattan and 2 blocks from Central Park NYC, yes, it is an enclave of wealth and privilege. Try riding your bike around the Bronx some time, it'll broaden your world view.

> I went to public schools here

There's a world of difference between a public school in a wealthy area and one in a shitty one. The former might as well be a private school in terms of the quality of instruction and available funding from PTA donations.