Parade rule was not enforced
Month of Ride:
Unfortunately I wasn't able to ride in the March ride. I was in Oregon visiting friends and riding on a much more police friendly critical mass ride. The police in Portland showed up, said hi and sat quietly by.
Oh and they showed up on BICYLES! Yes bikes.. not scooters, motorcycles or even in cars but Bicycles. They were friendly and supportive the complete opposite of the NYPD.
Now onto March's ride. As I said I wasn't around but fortunately several other people were. Here is an account from "Scott" whom has posted a ticket on this site and still continues to ride in Critical Mass (Thank you Scott).
It was the same old clusterfuck. They didn't enforce the limit of 50 rule but they did the usual blocking and splintering tactics a few blocks north of the Square on Park. They gave out almost fifty tickets apparently, and there were a few arrests too.
My friend and I were at the back so we managed to ride through and past all the cops (and unfortunate riders) who were by then all busy sorting out their ticket situations. As a group of about thirty we rode awhile unchallenged, including a bike lift in Times Square.
After the second meetup at Columbus we went back through Times Square. At Forty Second a cop appeared and was waving everyone to go left. Some did, some didn't, and some other cops grabbed some guy and although I didn't see it I think they may have tackled him pretty good.
They had him up against a mailbox by the time I rode past. We regrouped with the survivors of that one later and limped back to Times Up. My friend had a close call at one point that night when a cop grabbed him but couldn't hold on as my friend took off and got away.
So except for some small lucky bunches the cops effectively shut the ride down. It was about 150 riders to start. There was lots of press this time.
Possibly it was the press that kept the cops from enforcing the rule or the outright illegality of the rule itself. The 5 borough bike is suing the city over the 50 person/bicycle limit as it effectively shuts down their club.
BikeBlog had a different take on the ride. Check it out.
I end this entry with a call for help. This site is an excellent resource for us to organize and highlight what is happening to the Critical Mass rides and to Cycling in general in New York City but I need help!.
No HTML or programming experience is needed. If you can send an email you can help out with this site. I need people to post video, check the latest tickets, promote the site, write blogs, etc. Contact me if you're interested in helping out!
You guys should get run over
You guys should get run over and then removed by the DSNY and save the city all the OT its paying the NYPD to write you these silly tickets.
Common response
aaah.. the anonymity of the web, it allows people to make quick quirt comments without retribution. Active dialog is always much better than a simple comment. Next time leave a name, email address or website.
In response, your comment is not uncommon. No doubt you're a driver whom has probably been inconvenienced by the ride. Think to yourself how many times you've been inconvenienced by a Critical Mass ride and how many times you've been inconvenienced by (a) overcrowded toll booths (b) car accidents that clog a lane, lanes or an entire road or (c) traffic jams (simply too many cars on the road).
I think it goes without saying that CM has inconvenienced you far fewer times that everyday traffic.
When CM goes on without the NYPD going crazy it is smooth, quick and orderly. Alas it will always slow traffic because that is the point. We are cyclists and you should take notice. Its pretty plain and simple.
Onto your point about the City paying OT to hand out these crazy tickets. Why don't you please stop driving your car? The amount the city has to pay into OT to control traffic, handle car accidents, patrol for unsafe/drunk drivers is massive. Not to mention that amount the city pay for toll booth operators, road maintenance, cleanup, etc.
This is NYC with some of the best public transportation around. Why are we still driving cars in/around the city?
You're entitled to your opinion and I'm glad that you shared it. I'm even happier that you took the time to read this website and see what is going on in your city.
You should also take the time to realize that Critical Mass is in 350+ cities worldwide with the two largest gatherings being in San Francisco and Chicago. Chicago easily reaches 5,000 participants in the summer months and several hundred in the winter months. All without crazy ticketing or arrests.
NYC is no different. It has been in the city for over a decade without police harassment it can be that way again (we're only two years into this craziness).
Post new comment