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July 24, 2009
Front Gate Stolen
On July 12th i came home from a wedding around 11pm, upon leaving to go to work I saw that my front gate which has been on the property at Carlton ave. between Bergen and Dean streets for over 50 years was stolen during the hours between 12am and 6am. Has this happened to any one else? How do we protect our property?
Comments
This happened to my neighbor several years ago. Someone suggested that thy go to the local scrap metal place and there it was.
Posted by: Giovanna at July 24, 2009 7:46 AM
Yes, people will steal anything that's not bolted down. Iron gates, planters, front porch furniture. I once had some nice window boxes with flowers, stolen, on Mother's Day! You really have to bolt or chain everything down. If you get a replacement gate, have washers welded to the top of the hinge pin to keep it from walking. There is a guy who has lots of iron salvage near the parking lot at Lowes. You could probably find a replacement there.
Posted by: Rick at July 24, 2009 8:35 AM
We had a tree stolen from in front of our house; they simply yanked it right out of the planter and took off. OK, fool me once... the next time I drilled into the concrete, epoxied a large screw eye in, and used a heavy gauge stainless crimp cable to secure the tree. It took about 7 weeks for the f***ing degenerates to come by with bolt cutters and steal this one. I give up. It's no wonder I hate almost everybody.
Posted by: houseowax at July 24, 2009 10:18 AM
I had a bench stolen in mid day in plain sight while the kids played outside. Since then I've been prudent and practical. Don't assume it cant happen- because undoubtedly it will.
Posted by: Brooklynchimp at July 24, 2009 10:18 AM
Relatives in rural central Jersey also had lawn ornaments stolen. Don't fool yourself that this only happens in BK OR NYC.
Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at July 24, 2009 10:28 AM
It happens, I have seen people take a steel cable like you'd use for a bike and lock the gate to the rest of the fence where the hinges meet the fence. Although it is not pretty, it will deter the common gate thief.
BTW, I am surprised that it was stolen. Scrap metal is really cheap right now.
Posted by: mrkknox at July 24, 2009 10:28 AM
quote:
Relatives in rural central Jersey also had lawn ornaments stolen. Don't fool yourself that this only happens in BK OR NYC.
well that's also because a lot of rural and suburban places in jersey have become ghetto meccas.
*rob*
Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 24, 2009 10:32 AM
I see these Victorian gates still standing after 100plus years in still-high crime parts of Brooklyn. Was this a newer gate?
Are the newer gates not installed as well?
Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at July 24, 2009 10:33 AM
Exactly my point, where do think all the trash is going? Poconos, South Jersey, etc. You can't run is what my argument is...
Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at July 24, 2009 10:35 AM
I'd rather swipe just one gate than spend all morning picking thru garbage for soda cans.
Posted by: bowl of dicks at July 24, 2009 10:49 AM
i dumpster dived a gate when a neighbor put in new one- it's an old one- with rounded top- spikes- if you need it you can come get it- i wasn't really planning to replace mine- just hated to see it go away to the landfill
call me at 917-513-3180 if you want it
Posted by: filmmer at July 24, 2009 10:49 AM
How awesome is it that Filmmer offered up his find to the OP. The internet at it's finest! :-)
Posted by: Tdeezy at July 24, 2009 10:54 AM
Did you see "Don't Mess With The Zohan?" It could have been Forest City Ratner's goons dressed up like degenerates.
Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at July 24, 2009 10:56 AM
yes, my next door neighbor caught one in the act. he heard noises out front., came out and saw the thief trying to pry the gate loose. They want the old original gates.
Posted by: ClintonHillGal at July 24, 2009 11:02 AM
Yep Brooklyn's antiquities are worth a lot to some. No one is scraping your gate. It's being cleaned right now and you might find it at the flea or local antique shop.
The washer idea works. Any iron worker can pop in a lil stopper for dirt cheap.
Posted by: jack slade at July 24, 2009 11:32 AM
Brownstone chop shops.
***Bid half off peak comps***
Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 24, 2009 12:19 PM
its probably a contractor renovating a brownstone somewhere not too far that needed a gate for the reno. happens... when i wanted a new gate for my reno, i was asked what kind i wanted and presto, i had something similar to my wish soon after. wouldnt surprise me if it was ripped off some bed sty house...
same for the iron fencing stuff too...
Posted by: dinobot at July 24, 2009 12:54 PM
I recently had a welder come out and put a bar across the pin to prevent this from happening. Sometime over the past year, some guys came and took about 4-5 gates on Lefferts Place. Around the same time a crew were stopped on the Bridge with van or truckload of original Brownstone Fencing. The truck had Penn Plates and was owned by one of the drivers. Apparently these guys take fences and gates and balustrades and sell them over in PA. There must be a company over there that is interested in buying all sorts of stolen Victorian gates and ironworks.
Posted by: brokestone at July 24, 2009 5:21 PM
thanks for the feed back everyone. I hope that anyone who had the same thing happen or any other thing stolen from their property filed a police report, some people say whats the point in that, but if there is enough reports it would set off a few alarms in the PD that there may be a need for more drive rounds in the neighborhood. Maybe they would stop the guy with a cart full of scrap metal.
Posted by: ron1254 at July 25, 2009 1:11 AM
Saw on the phndc.org site that 4 gates were stolen recently from houses on Prospect Pl (Carlton/Vanderbilt). Clearly the neighborhood is being targeted. Don't expect the police to do anything.
Posted by: grand army at July 27, 2009 5:59 PM
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