VOLUNTEERS CLEAN UP BIKE CHOP SHOP
SANTA CRUZ >> In an outcome differing from many neighborhood social media posts, a recent picture of a highway-side bicycle “chop shop” spurred a small group of local residents to reach beyond their keyboards this weekend.
Michael Berger, a Santa Cruz native, was one of those who spent several hours Sunday pulling some 90 bicycle frames, more than 100 rims and 150 tires from two sites, including bushy alcove near Shaffer Road and Mission Street Extension. Berger, whose professional work and personal traveling have brought him to places around the globe, said he rarely jumps in to engage with Nextdoor.com social media posts, but felt compelled last week to offer his help when another suggested that citizens seek to retrieve the bicycles.
“So how do we work for positive change, how do we help house people, how do we try to disrupt criminal activity, the drugs, all of that? It’s going to take everyone working together,” Berger said of his interest in getting involved in Santa Cruz.
Berger said group members contacted Santa Cruz Police Department ahead of their planned cleanup to make sure to do things bythe-book, and that personal possessions not related to the apparent chop shop were left alone. He said he was “flabbergasted by how much stolen goods there were,” observing a hut, workman’s benches, tool benches, generators, propane tanks, “a full-scale operation.” The group pulled the bike parts and more up out of the gulley — maybe five to 10 of the frames with registration information visible — and stacked them near the roadside for city Public Works Department workers to remove, Berger said. Police Chief Andy Mills showed up on his day off to help out at the Westside cleanup as well as a separate Eastside effort, according to police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke.
“We are focused on restoring the environment and reducing crime through pragmatic, peaceful and legal actions,” Berger summarized.
Berger said he expects the core group — and perhaps others willing to participate — to continue its involvement with similar future goodwill efforts. Many bicyclists passed the group by Sunday during the cleanup and cheered it on, but none stopped to take part, he said.
Berger stressed that the group is working within legal constraints and is “certainly not any sort of vigilantes or thugs.”
“Do things in the right way and then spread awareness and convince others to do more of this,” Berger said.
Blaschke said Monday the police department was aware and highly appreciative of the community-led response. The police department responded to multiple citizen complaints about the chop shop last week and sent community service officers to the site ahead of the citizen cleanup to make contact with those living there, Blaschke said. She added that is not against the law in Santa Cruz to have public possession of a large number of bicycles, unlike in San Francisco, where a controversial 2017 defined and outlawed bicycle chop shops.
“Oftentimes (officers) do go out there and if there’s a serial number and they don’t report it stolen or they haven’t had it registered to report it stolen, who’s to say whose bike it is,” Blaschke said. “We could assume it’s unusual. But I’m surprised how many people don’t report their stolen bike. They
might talk about it on social media but don’t actually file a police report.”
Blaschke said it is free for city residents to register their bicycles on the police department’s website, at bit.ly/2ZllKtB. Stolen bicycles also can be reported online, under “Report a Crime” in the left-hand column at cityofsantacruz. com/government/city-departments/police.