Thieves will go a long way to steal a bike — and a YouTube video proves it by showing a group of men chopping down a tree on E. Eighth Street near Avenue C to steal a mountain bike that was chained to it.
In the security-camera video, a group of men in front of 352 E. Eighth St — one of whom is inexplicably carrying an ax — chop down a tree despite the best efforts of another man, who keeps trying to get them to stop.
After a few minutes of chopping, the tree finally falls, and the crew walks away — just before another man returns, rides the bike for a few moments, drops it, then walks away, too.
The whole thing went down around 2 am last Wednesday, and was posted on YouTube last Thursday.
Police say they are aware of the unauthorized tree removal.
“It’s under investigation. They’re trying to identify people,” said Detective Vinnie Galina of the 66th Precinct.
A sped-up video of the act can also be found at http://bennyhillifier.com/?id=PcV4LVhSRLg, with the culprits cutting down the tree to the tune of “Yakety-Sax” by Boots Randolph — a song made famous by the popular British television program “The Benny Hill Show.”
