Crime in the Bronx

When people think about the Bronx, they often think about crime, and an abundance of it. Riverdale, while it is a part of the Bronx, is not known for a high crime rate, and the area we lived in was very peaceful and even suburban. Our apartment building was clean and well maintained and the residents were nice and generous. That's why we were so surprised to find that we were the victims of a crime. Before you get all worried (Dad), it was a small crime, and a pretty silly, and even funny one at that.

Before I was pregnant with Charlotte, Eric and I would enjoy the occasional bike ride through our neighborhood. Our building had a bike room and we stored our bikes there. It seemed very safe. We hadn't checked on our bikes since last October when we found out we were expecting Charlotte, but we assumed everything would be fine. We were wrong. When the movers came, Eric went into the bike room to get our bikes. Yes, our bikes were still there, but someone stole Eric's nice bike seat and replaced it with a beat up one. Who would do that? Did he/she think we wouldn't notice? Maybe (and this is me seeing the best in people) they just planned on borrowing it for a while and were going to return it in the near future. But now that we've moved, they'll never get that chance and will have to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives.

So you see, it was a small crime, but still worth noting. Truth be told, it is the only experience I've had with theft in the entire 7 years I've lived in New York. That's pretty amazing. Plus, it's not really theft when you think about it - just a swap of bike seats.