Today Sun Mon
It is forcast to be Partly Cloudy at 11:00 PM EDT on May 26, 2012
Partly Cloudy
22°/18°		 It is forcast to be Mostly Cloudy at 11:00 PM EDT on May 27, 2012
Mostly Cloudy
22°/15°		 It is forcast to be Chance of a Thunderstorm at 11:00 PM EDT on May 28, 2012
Chance of a Thunderstorm
24°/14°

21 Comments

news

City Hot, Bike Thief Caught, HBC Bought

By Patrick Metzger

20080717news.jpg
Toronto is still under an extreme heat alert, with high temperatures approximating those on the surface of Mercury at 427° C. OK, 31° C but the humidity will make it seem hotter.
The owner of the Bicycle Clinic near Queen and Strachan has been arrested after plainclothes police allegedly watched him instruct another man to use bolt cutters to cut the locks off two bikes and steal them. The incident clarifies the Bicycle Clinic slogan, which has long been “We steal the other guy’s bike and pass the savings along to you!”
Councillor Adam Vaughn wants to end the canine reign of terror in city parks by banning leash-free areas in all parks with an area of less than 2 acres, which would be about half of those in Toronto and most in downtown. Based on the Star article, his reasoning isn’t clear, but seems to have something to do with hurt feelings over not being personally consulted on the issue.
The once—although not recently—proudly Canadian Hudson’s Bay Company has been sold to the American company NRDC Holdings, who may convert parts of large Bay stores to its US flagship brand Lord & Taylor. Soon elderly ladies will be able to cross-border shop without culture shock.
Out west, the BC Games are going to save the planet from global warming by dousing the flame that traditionally burns for 100 days before each event. The torch is estimated to consume 600,000 British Thermal Units of natural gas during that time, or enough to heat the average Canadian home for about 2 days.
Photo by St Even from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

Comments

  • richelle

    Do people remember when family pets (cats and dogs), roamed the neighborhood and dog walking was the simple act of taking the dog to the park to play fetch?
    WTF Adam Vaughan!? Aren’t there more pressing issues in the city you could champion? If he gets his way, the only alternative for most dog owners will be a treadmill.

  • spleen

    it’s to bad the cops didn’t go into Igor’s shop and make him prove that the piles and piles of high end bikes stashed in the basement are also ‘not’ stolen.
    he needs to be shut down

  • David Topping

    Interestingly, the Sun interviewed Igor Kenk for a recent story on bike theft, and on Monday, I Bike T.O. (and its readers) called foul, because “a very common rumour is that he is a major buyer of stolen bikes.”

  • Mark Ostler

    I found my bike at Igor’s the same day it was stolen, a few months ago. Hopefully this leads to further investigation and charges.

  • jaymo

    People who steal bikes are fucking low-lifes.
    As for Adam Vaughan – what’s the problem? I’m a dog owner and i’m also a parent. I remember when my kids were smaller and dogs would come up to them in the park and it would freak them out. A 65 pound dog can be pretty intimidating to a four year old kid – and guess what – some of them even bite.
    I have this to say to dog-owners everywhere … not everyone likes dogs. And some people are even allergic to them. I’m personally tired of seeing people bringing their dogs into stores with them and so on.
    There will still be plenty of places to let your dog run around off-leash. Toronto is a city full of great parks. I take my big dog to the local schoolyard during non-peak hours. Usually, there is nobody around – but if someone shows up – the leash goes on.
    I think we can all be a little less selfish with our parks.

  • davedave

    It wasn’t known as “the stolen bike shop” for nothing.
    I’m amazed it took this long to nail that asshole.
    So he tried to steal bikes right near how own store? Idiot.
    The BC Games decision is a bit much.

  • Spicoli

    This story just made my day.
    I had the same experience happen to me with my bike a month ago. Luckily, the same day it was stolen I found it just sitting outside his shop.
    As I approached it, there were two men sitting on a near by door step. All I could say was “This is my bike, and I’m taking it back”, to which they immediately replied “we didn’t steal it” even though I never accused them of it.
    Igor came out, I repeated myself, he looked back at the two guys on the step, grinned and then just nodded his head.

  • joelphillips

    We live near Trinity Bellwoods and had a bike stolen last week – boltcuttered off our front porch. Possibly somewhat foolishly, we went the next day and asked Igor straight out whether we could look in side his shop to see if he has it. He was evasive and then locked his front door and left. To be fair, we were effectively accusing him of being a bike thief (or receiving stolen goods), which isn’t necessarily a tactic that is best designed to get someone to cooperate with you.
    However, I’m hoping that the police follow up on this and get a search warrant to inspect his store.

  • dowlingm

    A bit suspicious that the cops only acted against this guy a few days after the Sun published articles about his activities. I guess that’s what needs to happen when crimes occur – don’t call 911 call your neighbourhood journo.

  • michkaTO

    I think Igor has my bike. I hope the cops get a warrant and check out the inside of his “shop”.
    Bike thieves suck.

  • 32teeth

    the outright ban of off leash parks is silly
    oh, and by the way, i once ran into some teenagers that looked at me all tough and shit in a schoolyard where i was walking my dog. can we ban teenagers from parks as well.
    welcome to toronto, the big city with small town mentality!!!
    let’s take a look at great stuff we have done
    1. dundas square, the public part privately owned
    2. 50kmh+ speed violation has caught more soccer moms than racers
    3. speed bumps on fire routes
    4. public bathrooms from private businesses
    5. the TTC
    and the list goes on

  • jaymo

    32teeth … read the article. Nobody is proposing an outright ban of off-leash parks. The idea is that dogs not be allowed off-leash in parks smaller than 2 acres – which is pretty reasonable, in my opinion.

  • andrew

    I’m not sure how I’ve participating in “doing” Dundas Square, speed bumps on fire routes [I've never ever consumed drugs on a fire route, that much I can remember], or the entire Commission. Actually, I haven’t done even a single member of the Commission.
    I’m glad Igor got caught.

  • PickleToes

    Forget about Councillor Vaughan, how about ending the socialist reign of terror in Toronto?

  • brett

    Hey, it’s Brett Clarkson. I’m the Sun reporter who’s been working on this story.
    I’ll be following this in the coming days/weeks, so if anybody has anything to share re/ their experiences with Igor and bike theft in general, get in touch with me at brett.clarkson@sunmedia.ca
    This story is going to be evolving and I’d like to stay on top of it. So any help or comment is definitely appreciated!
    Thanks a lot,
    Brett

  • Green Sulfur

    I wonder who’s pushing a bike agenda at the Sun. Before the theft and door prize stories, the only time the Sun covered cycling issues was when Sue-Ann Levy whined about bicycle lanes.

  • reetdoontoon

    hey brett, check out uncle jacob on spadina.

  • andrew

    I think Brett is pushing the bike agenda. Or would that be pedalling the bike agenda? Wait…he’s a writer for the Sun…who’s concerned about bikes…uh-oh. People near Pickletoes watch out for shrapnel when this thought hits.

  • Hungrybum

    The bike shop had a mysterious fire last night…

  • Svend

    Thanks for the story, Brett – it’s the kind of investigation that needs to get done in this city.
    I’d say craigslist is also a place to scan if your bike is stolen, it will be easy to recover if you have the serial number written down – even better if you register it with the police.

  • FreeRangeRadio

    Most questions about Toronto bike theft can be answered here. Featuring Igor.
    http://playlistor.com/play.php?pl=Dx3hp9H7wzut9i9