----- begin forward ----- The New York Times - June 22, 2003
Daisy, Daisy. Oh, Never Mind. By PATRICK HEALY
LIFE was sweet for David Niles and his seven-seat bike, a fire-engine-red, 450-pound contraption that looks less like a mode of transportation than a giant spider.
Mr. Niles, 42, and his bike had become another quirky fixture along the Coney Island boardwalk, where stranger things have been seen. Twice a week, he and a group of senior citizens would pedal along the boardwalk, chatting about politics, recipes and how the boardwalk, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, has lost its luster.
But back in March, when Mr. Niles went to check on the bike, he discovered that it had been stolen. Someone had crept into the empty lot next to Major Markets Prime Meats, broken the two locks and made off with the $9,500 bike.
"They didn't steal a bike, they stole a problem," said Jimmy Prince, who owns Major Markets. "You couldn't hide something like that."
Indeed. The bike was built to order, and only a handful of similar ones exist worldwide. It is the size of a large dining room table, as lurid as Hollywood blood and instantly recognizable in Coney Island.
Mr. Niles, who used to smile and wave as he pedaled, was a familiar sight on the boardwalk. He fielded questions about the bike and wore a "Free Rides" sign when the local farmers market operated on Sundays.
Russian immigrants, many of them former engineers, marveled at its ingenuity. A homeless man named Hippie sometimes hitched rides down Mermaid Avenue.Dozens of elderly people rode the bike into their own pasts. Muriel Kerzer, who has lived in Sea Gate for 40 years, used to take her children to the boardwalk to watch the fireworks, and went for long Saturday afternoon walks there with her husband. She watched businesses disappear from Coney Island and the boardwalk itself rot.
After the theft, the rides stopped, and Mr. Niles began trying to recover the bike. "Missing" signs around the neighborhood, and strange rumors about the bike's whereabouts started trickling in, like faint carnival music flitting through the night air.
Some people believed that a local resident had taken the bike and planned to return it. Others said a crack addict had stolen it and sold it for $600. One night, a bus driver making his rounds reported seeing several people riding the bike through western Coney Island, "having a grand time," Mr. Niles said.
A couple of weeks ago, a phone call shook Mr. Niles out of bed at 3 a.m. The police had retrieved the bike from a man who had been spotted pushing it down Surf Avenue. The man told the police he had found it, Mr. Niles said.
The bike was still in excellent condition, but the police would not let Mr. Niles take it home alone. With two police cruisers trailing him, their lights flashing, Mr. Niles climbed into the driver's seat and rode home, three officers pedaling at his side.
The rides have resumed. Mr. Niles now stores the bike in a garage near Dino's Wonder Wheel. The thief remains at large.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company ----- forward ends -----
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