Cops are not happy over the Citi Bikes’ hefty price tags — saying that their inevitable thefts will drive up grand-larceny numbers.
Bike-share users whose shared rides get stolen are on the hook for $1,200, which the NYPD has to classify as a grand larceny.
“If one of them gets stolen or vandalized now we’ll get stuck with a number for the grand larceny,” said one Manhattan cop. “You know it’s going to happen. They’re going to get stolen or vandalized.”
The $1,200 figure is accurate since the bikes are specially made, with hidden cables and sturdy bolts and frames, to handle tough city roads, said bike- store owner Carlos Dell’Oroso.
“The reason it’s so expensive is its a limited-production style of bicycle,” said Dell’Oroso, owner of Spokesman Cycles. “Everything you see on that bike is not the standard.”