8th Annual City Police Bike Sale to be Held this Saturday

The city of Cortland police department is holding its eighth annual bicycle sale this Saturday from 8-11 a.m. at The Armory on Wheeler Avenue.

The bikes for sale range from a price tag between $10 and $50. It is based on the condition of the bikes, said city police chief Paul Sandy.

Sandy noted that the city police plans to limit two bikes sold per person. If there’s a family with three children, however, three bikes can be sold to the family.

A mix of 65 youth and adult bikes will be up for sale, Sandy said. He added the bikes were found by the police “throughout the city,” and most of them were either not claimed or reported stolen.

“Residents will find (bikes) discarded in parks, yards or along the (Tioughnioga) river,” Sandy said. “Sometimes business owners will call us and say there’s a bike abandoned in front of their business.”

Sandy noted, by law, city police collect and keep the bikes from six months to a year.

“It’s a good way to get bikes back on the road for people, especially those who can’t afford a brand-new one,” he said.

Sandy added, “Every year we have this event, it’s like Black Friday. There is a huge line outside (The Armory) even before the event gets underway.”

For any bikes not sold on Saturday, city police donates them to Royal Family Kids’ Camps, Inc., a children’s club and camp that mentors abandoned and neglected kids in the foster care system.

The club takes the donated bikes and “fixes them up,” Sandy said. The club then teaches the kids how to ride a bike.

City police will look to donate funds raised from the bicycle sale to help refurbish Veteran’s Memorial Park at Courthouse Park.