{
  "id": "2025-08-11-columbia-university-earl-gate-black-building-bike-thefts",
  "slug": "columbia-university-earl-gate-black-building-bike-thefts-2025-08-11",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Columbia University",
    "shortName": "Columbia",
    "state": "NY",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Columbia Public Safety Clery Alert",
    "enrollment": 33000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-08-11",
    "type": "theft",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "under-investigation",
    "headline": "Bike thefts at Earl Hall Gate and the Black Building",
    "headlinePublic": "Bike thefts at Earl Hall Gate and the Black Building",
    "summary": "Columbia Public Safety [issued Clery Crime Alert 2025-W21](https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/publicsafety.columbia.edu/files/content/W21_Clery_Thefts_MultipleLocations__2025-08-11to2025-09-03.pdf).",
    "outcome": "Public Safety seeking tips at 212-854-2797."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Crime Alert\nBike Thefts\nColumbia University Public Safety has been notified of a series of three bike thefts that occurred near the Morningside and Medical Center campuses\nwithin the last month. The incidents were committed by the same suspect, a light complexioned, male-presenting person, with dark hair, usually sporting a\nstubble. All three incidents were reported to Public Safety and the NYPD.\nThe first incident occurred on August 11 at around 10:04 a.m in front of Earl Gate on West 117th Street and Broadway. The second incident occurred on\nAugust 27 at around 6:07 a.m. at the Black Building bike racks on West 168th Street and Fort Washington Avenue. The third incident occurred on\nSeptember 3 at around 5:41 a.m. also at the Black Building bike racks on West 168th Street and Fort Washington Avenue.\nWe strongly encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime to report it to both Columbia University Public Safety (Morningside\n(212-854-2797 / Manhattanville (212-853-3301) / Medical Center (212-305-8100) and the NYPD. Timely and accurate reporting helps enhance\nawareness of incidents occurring in and around our campuses, enabling more effective resource allocation and communication with the community.\nSafety Tips\nPublic Safety offers a bike regitration program designed to recover and identify your bike in the event of a theft. Bike registration is FREE and has\naided in the recovery of several stolen bicycles. A unique ID is engraved and registered with the NYPD and a highly visible police decal is placed on the\nbike to discourage theft. The next Ride Your Bike to Campus day will be held at the Medical Center campus on Friday, September 12.\nIt is important to always lock your bike properly with a quality U-lock or heavy-duty chain to secure both the frame and at least one wheel. Do not lock\nyour bike on scaffolding or street signs as those structures are easy to dismantle. Public Safety offers Kryptonite brand bike locks at a discounted price.\nFor more information about Ride Your Bike to Campus day or how to buy discounted bike locks, please visit our Crime Prevention Programs website\nat publicsafety.columbia.edu/content/crime-prevention-programs#\n\nDISCLAIMER: Clery Crime Alerts (Timely Warning Notifications) are distributed pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act. Columbia University is required to\nalert the campus community when certain crimes occur in our Clery Act defined campuses that represent a serious or continuous threat to the community.\nTo see this and other Clery Crime Alerts please visit our Public Safety website. For more information about Columbia University’s Clery Act compliance efforts, please\ncontact the Department’s Clery Act Compliance Director, Roberto A. Pineda Sanchez at ps-compliance@columbia.edu.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/publicsafety.columbia.edu/files/content/W21_Clery_Thefts_MultipleLocations__2025-08-11to2025-09-03.pdf",
      "sourceDescription": "Columbia Public Safety Clery Crime Alert PDF (2025-W21)",
      "annotations": [
        "PDF text layer ligatures normalized to ASCII, matching W06 capture practice. sha256 ee72c342224b346de47faa2bdbd01b5a1b3b7c8460e88165f6d299e82b1d787e. Dual-fetch PDF bytes as packaged.",
        "Columbia Clery 2025-W21 flyer W21_Clery_Thefts_MultipleLocations__2025-08-11to2025-09-03.pdf."
      ],
      "characterCount": 2781
    }
  ],
  "context": "Columbia Public Safety posts Clery Crime Alerts as PDFs. Official product: the [2025-W21 warning](https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/publicsafety.columbia.edu/files/content/W21_Clery_Thefts_MultipleLocations__2025-08-11to2025-09-03.pdf).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Official Clery Crime Alert PDF recovered from the Public Safety files host."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Columbia Public Safety Clery Crime Alert PDF (2025-W21)",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/publicsafety.columbia.edu/files/content/W21_Clery_Thefts_MultipleLocations__2025-08-11to2025-09-03.pdf",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-09-21",
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "archiveNotes": "SPN not attempted after 500 flap at 07:36Z"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "private-r1",
    "new-york",
    "columbia",
    "ivy",
    "clery",
    "theft"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-09-21",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-21",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}