Glens Falls seeks public’s help to crack down on unruly bicycle riders

Glens Falls mayor issues warning about bike riders

Glens Falls mayor issues warning about youths riding bikes in and out of traffic as the weather gets warmer.

The Glens Falls mayor and police chief are asking for the public’s help to crack down on dangerous bicycle riders that are running into city traffic.

This comes as summer vacation is right around the corner. There were two calls in February about dangerous bicycle riding in Glens Falls. Then, those numbers ballooned to 13 in March and 12 in April. There were two arrests that month including one adult and one juvenile.

Since then, the numbers have gone down, according to the chief. There were six calls in May and three so far this summer.

Last summer, Glens Falls Police were busy with a number of incidents of juveniles on bikes, unruly behavior and of kids hanging out on city streets harassing and sometimes assaulting and unsuspecting strangers. People felt the teens were targeting senior citizens. In September, Glens Falls Police reported they had arrested 16 juveniles over the summer. The charges included assault and gang assault. There were five arrests of adults who were supposed to be responsible for the children in October.

The Glens Falls Chronicle reported on two men being assaulted on South Street by three young people on bicycles.

The mayor said calls and information from the public in combination with regular police patrols have helped, but he said the community cannot relax. They’re asking the public again to report dangerous by riders to help police identify them and especially what he calls the ringleaders and get them out of traffic.