They're back!

The police can at least, flash some sirens and move them along.  Why should they be able to get comfortable.  They were going back and forth and hanging out in the area for at least an hour and a half that I saw.  In that time, the police could have arranged something; at a minimum, a police car blocking the medium every block or two to protect those enjoying a warm afternoon; just to keep bikes and ATVs in the street.

At the mtg I attended, the public was told that even doing such things could cause the bikers to flee, making the police liable for their crashes.

The police are also in a situation wherein they are out numbered. Rather than appear impotent, they seem to just act as if they see nothing.

Have a good summer! Philadelphia is far worse.

Just park a stupid police car on the medium.  This alone can save lives.  Fine, don't chase, but have a presence.

It's just a matter of time before an innocent person gets hurt.

Innocent people have already been hurt.

http://bronx.news12.com/news/26-year-old-arrested-for-pedestrian-involved-dirt-bike-crash-caught-on-surveillance-video-1.4901179

....the police are acting (not acting) in light of same.

Make it illegal for a gas station to serve gas to unlicensed uninsured vehicles

What about those that have to fill up generators, lawn mowers, etc.?  And if it just limits them pulling in and filing up directly, they would fill up a jug and fill up somewhere else, and they'd tell everyone it was for their lawnmower.

Unlike NJ, our gas attendants rarely leave the inside of the adjacent convenience store.

One swipes a prepaid debit card, pumps and goes....

Caltrops and tear gas.

Caltrops and tear gas.

I thought of caltrops.  Would that be a criminal offence?

Not if the cops put them down...

I don't know whether there would be a criminal offense if an ordinary citizen used caltrops, but imagine how many innocent individual drivers would sue you if their cars were damaged. For that matter, even the dirt bike riders could sue you (although I imagine many of them would be more inclined to punch, knife or shoot you, or whomever they wrongly assumed had put down the caltrops... And then those persons, or their surviving family members, could sue you).

As discussed on this related thread,

http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/45392/dirt-bikes-are-back-spring-is-here/p1

A small group usually owns the dirt bikes and ATVs, and then allows others to ride and party with them for a fee. Some days come complete with after ride BBQs, and rap music performances.

They sometimes advertise the events so widely that even I (46 year old, geeky guy) come across the ads:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_pBq3nV8VP1_eI6z1CtK0QcAlb8_5jecvgHYi_pbOpU/formResponse

How hard would it be for the NYPD to express an interest, and then learn the location where the ride is to begin and end? (IE the storage shed location).

They could then get a warrant for the location, and confiscate them very uneventfully on a Tuesday morning.

So how would one go about reporting a dirt bike that has been terrorizing my street and is kept under a blue tarp in front of a building? If it has a plate I'm guessing the NYPD won't take action right? 

@southeast you didn't happen to get any video of the riders did you? 

If it has a plate, it is likely legal. The owner may use it an obnoxious, illegal and annoying manner but might not participate in Mobs.

If a mob originates in Crown Heights, we should be able to figure out where they are stored.

....my sense is that most (if not all) of them originate further east.

@newguy88 - This is what I have.

other cities around the world have ways to handle this. Why are we compared to Philly for having the same problem? There has to be soe techniques some police departments have figured out.  the muffler noise tells us all where they are.

Do you prefer us being compared to Baltimore?

http://www.vice.com/read/the-wheelying-dirt-bike-gangs-of-baltimore-twelve-o-clock-boyz-lofty-nathan

Same idea. What's that about?

The same thing it is here in Brooklyn:

http://gothamist.com/2014/03/03/anti-gang_cop_struck_then_dragged_2.php

Some theories here.

Is this one of these things where (forgive me here) the police are afraid of cracking down due to cultural sensitivities? For example, if there's been a culture of teens riding dirt bikes around, and it has been going on a while, it might be viewed as one of those things where police need to accept the local culture and so on despite the gentrifiers (lest they be accused of the worst things).

Another possibility is that the penalties for driving recklessly like that are so minimal that the police don't bother to do it.

Another possibility is that the police literally don't care and find it's not worth the hassle of tracking down a speeding 15 year old on a dirtbike, given the energy and time involved.

As explained above, patrol officers are prohibited from engaging the dirt bikers and ATVs in the vast majority of circumstances.

So, if you are looking for a larger motivation, you need to go up the ranks.

The policy predates the current Mayor.

It's like graffiti removal : it will have an effect if a method is found and applied.