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The NY Times looks at the festering squabble between the NYPD and bike riders who participate in Critical Mass by way of the police's unusually aggressive tactics to try to stop the rides. The big question seems to be, why are the police using SUVs and patrol cars, driving them onto sidewalks even, to pursue bikers? The NYPD's line seems to be that the bikers are creating a traffic mess with potential dangers for motorists, but with the renegade, almost Bullitt-like manuvers of police vehicles, who's kidding who? The Times has video and stills from observer John Hamilton that show how police cars chasing after bikers (Gothamist couldn't see it, as our connection to the Times seemed to time out). Which makes Gothamist wonder what would happen if the police used their new Dodge Chargers during Critical Mass rides.
What do you think of the police stance about using SUVs and patrol cars to "control" Critical Mass? When we hear the NYPD's statement that they'd gladly help map a route for Critical Mass, we imagine it'd be on Governor's Island. At the last Critical Mass ride, two cops on scooters were injured when they tried to intervene. And earlier this month, a judge ruled that Critical Mass rides cannot be barred by the city.
Photograph of last month's Critical Mass accident by Fred Askew
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Ray Kelly is obsessed with the bike rides the same way Guiliani was obsessed with ferrets. I think I read here that cops have been handing out tickets for things like not having a bell - a cool product would be a bike bell that says 'Ray Kelly Sucks' on the top of it.
This seems like a really silly fight for the NYPD. It almost seems like an ego thing now. It may well have started off with a legitimate idea that a bicycle protest would be too chaotic for the city to handle, but it really seems to have grown into a personal vendetta by the NYPD to teach these people a lesson who they view as thumbing their noses at them.
The critical mass rides obstruct traffic. The cops say they need to get a permit. Critical Mass refuses to do so, and proceeds with the rides anyway.
I realize that in some circles this will be greeted with a certain bohemian you-go!-buck-the-system enthusiasm, but at the end of the day, they are breaking the law. Can you fault the city for responding to these rides? You will probably say no, you don't, but you don't think these tactics are necessary. What would be reasonable then? Is it fair to dismiss out-of-hand the city's offer to negotiate a route?
Miguel, everything was cool until the Republican National Convention, when the bikers protested on one of their rides. So, yes, I can fault the "city" (it's the NYPD, actually - sort of an independent entity these days) and yes, I'd dismiss any offer by the NYPD to negotiate anything. Remember the negotiations over using the Great Lawn for a demonstration? Pointless.
Because of the dispersed nature of critical mass, it will ultimately be impossible for the police to herd the bicyclists... and the way they follow the bikes is crazy...the police just exacerbate the problem. during either the december or january ride, i was on 7th and 1st ave, and i saw maybe 50 bikes go by, followed by about 6 police cars and 2 paddywagons. who is really causing the traffic congestion here?
Two wrongs don't make a right. It would seem that the NYPD and Critical Mass deserve each other.
See the last sentence of the post - a group bike ride like Critical Mass is not breaking the law.
I think MT has it almost right. It's an ego thing, but on both sides. Right now Critical Mass vs. NYPD is a lose-lose situation. My (slight) hope is that the recent ruling would convince wiser heads within the city to work on a plan to encourage cycling and make the streets safer for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.
Nobody here reads the news. A major court ruled *against* the NYPD's claims that the bike ride needed a permit. For the thousandth time: a group of bike riders is not legally a "parade." Case closed. Literally.
I really don't see how CM's message of encouraging more bike riding and promoting a safe biking city is going to come across as they and NYPD escalate their conflict with each successive ride. I am sure by now the majority of the motorists and pedestrians are pretty fed up with this moronic display, and the message is ultimately lost to them. It'd have been better for the CM organizers to "police" themselves in the first place and get rid of the few bad seeds that usually ruin the ride for them.
I don't see much reason anymore for these CM rides to occur.
The last Crit. Mass ride I did, an officer on a scooter literally tried to stop me by trying to run into me. He didn't say "stop" or anything, just pointed his scooter at me and hit the gas. The only reason I wasn't injured was because I didn't stop pedaling. I was one of the arrested that night anyway, and there were 2 of the po-po for every cyclist, three paddywagons, about a dozen scooters, as well as patrol cars. Seems excessive to me.
With the starting NYPD rookie pay I'm getting, just give me a reason to go off on these loud, dirty hipsters!
Just try to step out of line and I'll crack their skulls with my baton!!
You're confusing "hipsters" with "hippies." Bike riding would mess up the hipsters' hair and get grease on their rockstar jeans.
I, too, would like to know why the police have and continue to act so thuggishly toward riders in the critical mass. I think it shows how the NYPD can abuse it's power and I think anyone who values their civil rights and civil liberties should stand up. At the very least, as a tax-payer, you should be concerned with the cost of NYPD's excess in this matter.
hipsters don't exercise.
I agree with #9. What is the purpose of the CM rides? I know the group *thinks* the rides are a benefit to bike riders everywhere, and are some kind of rallying cry. I don't see it. The rides seem to me to be purely self-serving.
As a person who rides every day in the city -- not just for little joyrides that get the NYPD riled up -- I haven't noticed any improvements. All I see are too few bike lanes, nowhere to lock up my bike and traffic that is often oblivious to my whereabouts. This is not a bike-friendly city, and in opinion CM has done and will not do anything to change that fact.
CM rides are legal? OK, fine. No argument there. But are they meaningful or helpful? No. Is anybody with any power in the city going to make the city more bike friendly as long as CM and the NYPD are continuing the silly pissing matches? Not a chance. (#6 is right, they *do* deserve each other.)
The only reason I'll pay attention to CM rides is to avoid them. On my way home from work I rode by the scene pictured above, and for a moment was worried the cops thought I was part of the parade.
These rides have been going on for over a year and no one thought much of it.
Why all the attention now?
Traffic? BS, this city is 24 hr traffic. And, it's cars causing it. Not to mention auto deaths, horse deaths and whatever deaths.
The courts have ruled and the city is disregarding the ruling. This is just abuse, plain and simple.
It's hard for me to speak ill against cops, since if you throw a pebble at an N. family gathering you'll probably hit three, but this is nuts. Will it tale some mom and child in stroller ends up as a hood ornament on an ESU vehicle to realize this has gone too far? The RNC was almost two friggin' years ago, for chrissakes. These rides took care of themselves fine for a lot of years. There's a-holes in every crowd (this is NYC) but for the most part the cars, bikes, and peds worked it out.
I sometimes wonder if the idea is to work up so much bad karma against bikers (cyclists?) that eventually the majority of people on the street will turn agressively against them. Then it won't matter if you're with CM or on your own, and the city can save the $$$ that would have gone to making things more bike-friendly.
Seems to me in addition to showing the aggressive tactics of the police, this video also demonstrates the flagrant law breaking of the CM cyclers. Many many riders going the wrong way down one way streets, blowing traffic lights, riding more than 2 abreast in a traffic lane and weaving around motor vehicle traffic. If CM riders want the same rights as motor vehicles - they are bound by the same traffic laws.
I thought Cyclists had the same rights to the road as motorists? So what's wrong with riding 2 abreast?
Weaving around traffic? you mean, like cars do to find the open lane?
Don't need a permit? Are you kidding!?
Hmmmm...the last time I checked a parade is: An organized public procession on a festive or ceremonial occasion (1). The participants in such a procession (2). A line or extended group of moving persons or things (3). An ostentatious show (4).
And Critical Mass: is a monthly celebration of bicycles and other nonpolluting means of transportation, exercising our right to the road.
Tu ne comprends pas?
drama queens on bikes
See, 18, 20, and 21 kind of prove my point. The cops use dispropotionately aggressive tactics, endangering innocent pedestrians and drivers (the very people we're all claiming to protect and speak up for) and then its the bikers fault.
Blaming the bikers for this is like blaming the wife for her husband beating on her (well, if she hadn't pissed me off...)
Nobody paid these rides any mind before Mike and Ray declared cyclists public enemy #1.
What I want to know Is: When will the Mayor Crack down on these Eeeeevil pillow Fighters???
Don't they Need a Permit??
;-)
I ride a bike.
But I'm quite tired of bikers, cyclists, whatever is the preferred term, who flout traffic rules. More than once i've been almost decapitated when crossing with the green by guys who blow thru a red light, as most do. The last guy yelled back at me, 'you didn't look!'
So I haven't got much sympathy for these people.
When i'm on a bike, I ride with the traffic and stop at lights till I see if anyone's coming, and don't join massive protest rides to defend bicyclists' rights to do whatever they want on the street.
But that's so 20 years ago.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Yes, Tim, the cops are being a bit overly aggressive, but the CM riders are also to blame.
To Rev pays: nothing wrong with riding TWO abreast - but the video shows far more than that per lane by the CM riders. Two abreast per lane is the max.
No, not weaving around traffic as in cars passing in the open lane. Weaving around traffic as in riding between cars along on the lane divider. Traffic laws require all vehicles to stay within the prescribed lanes unless passing where passing is allowed (dashed yellow or white line) and such passing will not endanger traffic in either direction. Both motorcycle and bicycle riders in NYC often ride on the lane dividers between cars which is not only illegal, but presents a serious danger to the rider.
Of course, you'll counter with "Yeah - like the motorists in NYC obey laws." you're right - motorists in NYC don;t obey laws, suck righteously and create a dangerous environment for everyone.
I guess CM and motorists have more in common than they think.
Tim N. - You're not seriously comparing riding a bike to beating a woman, are you? Cause that's just crazy!
Cyclists are dangerous. I was hit and seriously injured by a cyclist riding the WRONG WAY down a one way street AND running a red light. He didn't wait for the ambulance to show up, either. The policeman who responded to the scene did.
If you want respect and to share the road with motorists and pedestrians, obey the traffic laws. It's that simple. That includes stopping at red lights, signaling lane changes, and following traffic patterns. Oh, and staying off the sidewalk would be nice, too.
I have seen CM in action, and waiting 15 minutes while a bunch of cyclists break more traffic laws (riding the wrong way on one way streets, running lights, riding on the sidewalk, disturbing the peace with their incessant racket) doesn't inspire sympathy. It doesn't make me want to share my city streets with people who don't think the laws apply to them, either. CM isn't a parade, apparently. Then what are they, and how are they allowed to get away with the disruption they cause and the laws they break?
Student of Rock (Of Gibraltar??), are you maintining that the Judge is wrong?
CM is just one day a month,
Cars get to kill, pollute, gridlock, 365/24/7.
This is what the current administration want people to do, hate on cyclists.
Don't think the mayor loves you auto guys, too. He loves the revenue you guys bring in monthly via his sidekick Kelly.
The court ruled, it's not a parade, they don't need a permit. So stop asking if it's true (link below). My question is, why don't they use bicycle cops for bicycle problems?
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00716F8385A0C758DDDAB0894DE404482
February 16, 2006
City Is Rebuffed in Its Effort to Block Monthly Mass Bike Rides
It's so bizarre to hear complaints about cyclists holding up traffic. Cyclists are traffic. Can you imagine the cops going out to bust drivers for being in a big mass heading down Fifth Avenue -- something that we see every single day?
Similarly, and this is especially to pipsqueak, can you imagine that because some car hits a pedestrian the police should go out and try to grab other drivers for using the streets. It's preposterous.
If a cyclist is running lights or heading the wrong way down the street, they should be ticketed. We have laws about that. It's absurd to think that the very act of riding a bike, even with other cyclists, is somehow illegal. Unfortunately it seems too many police think it is.
The judge is wrong.
CM is a textbook example of how legitimate issues get hijacked by extremist fools. Time and time again, causes are taken over by "purists" like CM. They've done as much for bicycles in NYC as Al Sharpton has done for black people.
Well, that's your opinion. I'm not a Lawyer, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night...
My take is: the court is the voice of authority in this matter. Maybe the judge will be overruled in appeal, but that remains to be determined. I think people should be prosecuted for things they've done, not what they may do.
Going after CM for simply meeting as a group is ridiculous. Going after riders for actual traffic violations, this is preferable.
Student of Rock: That's a pretty simple-minded interpretation. But to try to boil it down for you, one could say that blaming the cyclist for the injuries to police (and to those hurt by police) is akin to a criminal blaming a crime victim for his, and their own, injuries. In other words, it's the "you made me do it" defense.
Nola: Fair point, my friend, but IMHO driving a great big ESU SUV on a sidewalk or the wrong way down a one-way is a bit extreme, and considerably more dangerous than riding a bike in the same way.
Look, I ride in the city almost every day. I hate it when I see people riding on the sidewalk, riding the wrong way, riding with headphones (a personal pet peeve, let's not get started). I also hate it when people wander into the bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge to take their damn pictures then curse you out when you yell "Look out! You're in my lane!" Nobody gets enough respect. If the city thinks they have a case, keep it in the courts. If you agree with the city, support them in court. CM sees the law one way, NYPD sees it another way. Let the judges decide. Because that's where this fight belongs - in court. Not on the streets where, no matter how dangerous or how outrageous you think CM's actions are, they don't stack up to police with badges and guns and clubs and great big vehicles being recklessly driven by poor beat cops who have to carry out these moronic orders that stem from an unhealthy obsession.
If this keeps getting worse every month, I predict we'll see our first Critical Mass "martyr" before the end of the year, probably some punk kid who'd want to challenge the NYPD and gets run over by a paddy wagon. Maybe then both side will stop this senseless nonsense.
For the record, I do blame CM and I do believe some of these jerks are asking for it.
Obviously we don't agree! But if you have the balls to ride in a CM, then don't hide behind the rulings of a judge!
Not only can the CM participants get injured, but what about the NYPD helicopter?
You think it's going up tonight with those wind gusts??
So much silliness in this thread.
"Student of Rock" says you shouldn't listen to judges. I guess he's a perfect candidate for the NYPD Critical Mass enforcement squad. Who the hell cares about the law? Just do whatever you want.
Stephen says CM riders are riding "far more than two abreast per lane." Just how much more is "far more" and how wide are the lanes in your universe? I don't know about you, but most lanes I've seen can handle three abreast, tops, not exactly "far more." And just what is the safety hazard of that, anyway? As long as they're in one lane, they're taking up no more of it than a single car would. Meanwhile, the cops are only being a "little" overzealous, despite the video and photos showing them clearly doing the things Stephen condemns, like crossing double yellow lines, driving on the sidewalk, etc.
Pugsley is being his usual 'bot self. Any time CM comes up, he posts the same message. "Drama queens on bikes." As opposed to being a drama bot on a blog board.
And I just have to love what they wrote in the Times.
One police spokesman said that applies to the pursuit of motor vehicles, not to bicyclesIn other words, if it's somebody in a car, leave them alone. But if it's somebody on a bike, it's Dukes of Hazzard time. Yee-hah!
Did I say don't listen to the judge or did I say the judge is wrong? As you said, "So much silliness in this thread."
Critical Mass has been going on for many years, since the '90s.
"Don't need a permit? Are you kidding!?"
You tell us what impression we're supposed to get from that. Did you write anything that can even vaguely be construed as "the city must comply with the judge's order, wrong though it may be"?