On Tuesday, June 25, Officers Thomas McCarthy, William Doherty and Sgt. Ronald Gagliano arrested a 39-year-old Floral Park man in connection with the theft of a bicycle from the garage of a Floral Blvd. resident. Police said they are hopeful the arrest will put an end to the recent rash of bicycle larcenies that began in the village this past April.

The Floral Park Police Department, for the past three weeks, deployed a plainclothes detail for the specific purpose of detecting and apprehending the person/persons responsible for the thefts. But it was not until 11:55 p.m. June 24 when a resident spotted the subject entering a Floral Blvd. garage that the department's efforts finally paid off.

The subject, according to police reports, fled the scene but was apprehended approximately 30 minutes later on Jamaica Avenue at 217th Street. He was scheduled to appear in First District Court for arraignment.

Mayor Ann Corbett reminds residents to always be alert. "Suspicions surface and may even lead to arrests when a police officer or resident spot two individuals on one bike peddling up and down the streets in our residential neighborhoods," she said.

She recommends residents make a bicycle difficult to steal. Close garage doors securely, lock the bike in the yard, seek advice from a bike shop about the quality and style of lock to buy and learn how to use it.

The police department offers a bicycle ID program. After purchasing a new bike, keep the receipt and record the make and model and serial and ID numbers. Have an ID number etched onto the bike, even write the number on a piece of paper and hide it.

"I know a teen who had his bike stolen while he was playing chess in a park," she said. "The bike was right next to him but he was concentrating on the game. Although it was spray painted a different color, he got the bike back because he had an ID."