Prospect Park Chain Booby Traps Bikers, Riders Say

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN -- It's a biker booby trap.

Dan Loomis, 38, was biking home from teaching a music lesson in Manhattan at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night when he turned to glide into Prospect Park and suddenly found himself speeding toward a hefty, metal chain.

Loomis was doing about 15-miles-an-hour when he swerved to miss the links at the Bartel-Pritchard Square entrance, flipped over his handlebars and landed on the concrete with his bike on top of him, he said.

Minutes later, the dazed Ditmas Park musician watched as a scooter turned the corner and landed almost exactly the same place he had.

What else could the two men do but take a selfie?

"I called it a booby trap in jest," Loomis told Patch Thursday evening. "But it's exactly what you would do to booby trap bikers."

Patch was not immediately able to reach the Prospect Park Alliance for more information about when the chain was installed and why, but Loomis bikes regularly bikes through the park and thinks it is a recent installation, he said.

A Parks Department spokesperson told Patch the chain will be replaced Friday with a temporary barrier until more permanent one is installed next week.

"This chain was installed in place of a broken swing gate within the last month," the spokesperson said. "We have not received any reports of injuries or complaints from 311."

But Loomis, who told Patch he had reported the chain to 311, said the hard-to-see chain has stopped at least four cyclists. A delivery man who stopped to see if he was okay told Loomis he'd seen two other bikers foiled by the fence the day before.

A bloody and bruised Loomis took a taxi home and was later checked out by a nurse friend who told him he won't need stitches, which is lucky because he's between health insurance, Loomis said.

Loomis, who said he was wearing a helmet and "nerdy" reflective vest, reported the chain to police, but doesn't think he'll have to work too hard to get it removed, he said.

"I feel like I shouldn't have to advocate for it too hard," Loomis said. "It's so obviously dangerous."

Update: This story was modified Friday to include a statement from the Park's Department and to to clarify that Loomis was wearing a bike helmet when he tripped.

Photos courtesy of Dan Loomis, used with permission