BUSY BEE BIKES (East Village)
THERE ARE NO FREE BICYCLES BEING DISTRIBUTED AT ANY TIME. WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. WE HAVE BICYCLE RENTALS AND BIKES FOR SALE.
The shop reopened on Friday, after a $4,000 fine and under court-ordered stipulations that include random inspections and severe restrictions on purchasing used bikes. While it has stopped accepting used bikes off the street, Mr. Malewich said, the shop continues to buy used bikes from a Connecticut wholesaler.
“We have that found several of the sellers of bikes to Busy Bee had records for crimes including grand larceny, burglary, narcotics, and weapons possession,” said Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman. “One individual who sold four bikes to Busy Bee had 18 prior arrests.”
“Busy bees, indeed,” he concluded.
Mr. Malewich, 52, a retired police detective, dismissed the notion that his shop knowingly engaged in any sort of criminal activity. “We have so many repeat customers, you could never have an image like this,” Mr. Malewich said, and he called the whole episode “embarrassing.” He said he believed the undercover officers did not accurately convey to the shop’s employees that the bikes were stolen. “To these kids, ‘hot’ — it doesn’t mean stolen,” he said. “It just means, you know, a nice bike.”
Busy Bee Bikes, a familiar destination for local cyclists, was forced to close its doors last Friday for criminal possession of stolen property, according to Lt. Patrick Ferguson of the Ninth Precinct.
One Busy Bee employee was arrested at the store that day after purchasing stolen property from an undercover officer, Ferguson said, adding that the owners of Busy Bee will appear in civil court on Wednesday.
