Queens Councilman Says Thumb Tacks Found On Bike Lane Are 'A Criminal Act Of Vigilantism'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD has launched an investigation after they say thumb tacks were found scattered along a heavily used bike lane in Queens.
One local lawmaker believes they're being put there on purpose to sabotage cyclists.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-26th) says dozens of tacks were spread out for blocks early Thursday, and they weren't anywhere else. The tacks have been since cleaned up, but Van Bramer insists they were put there to hurt someone.
The tacks were found along a four-block span of the lane at 43rd Avenue by 47th Street in Sunnyside.
"This was a criminal act of vigilantism and what is happening here is outrageous," Van Bramer said. "These people should be prosecuted and investigated."
His staff searched the area after a local father posted on social media that he was riding with his two kids on Wednesday when thumb tacks blew out one of his tires.
"They were meant to attack bicyclists, they were meant to pop their tires and anyone who knows anything about bicycles knows if someone's riding theirs and hits tacks that bike is gonna go down and someone could die," Van Bramer said.
No one in the family was injured, but now the councilman is trying to warn other cyclists.
The affected lane was installed in August and took away a lane of traffic, and some worry the resulting resentment has turned it into a dangerous tack-trap.
Van Bramer says he doesn't think the tacks were dropped by accident since the stretch spanned several blocks.
