Talk About the NYPD's Proposed Sidewalk and Street Rules

The single most important thing you can do if you want to stop this is to call your city councilor.

You can find your city councilor and phone number here: http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/index.cfm

Maybe it's Bait and Switch: Ask for Crazy option "A" and the say, "Ok, can we have B?"...

Forgetting the *constitutional* legalities for a moment (which are valid):

Is the NYPD legally authorized to create laws of ANY sort? See, I thought they were the enforcement end of the legal system. End. Of. Story.

Some do-gooder attorney should sue the entire NYPD for overstepping its mandate.

Then again, when we have a fucking president who feels he has the same god-given rights - to basically side-step the Constitution and rewrite laws his own damn self, this is the kind of shit that trickles down to others who (think they) have a little bit of power/authority.

Fuck them.

Unfortunately, the only way this insanity is going to stop is if people start getting stabbed in the subway and shot in Central Park every week again. The police simply don't have enough to do.

Considering Ray Kelly has a law degree, you might think such a blatant violation of the right of assembly might not pass muster. The fact that this is being fast-tracked into law shows how far and how low the NYPD has really fallen. And the police wonder why people think they're a bunch of uneducated fascists....

When we organized the first Still We Speak Rallys www.stillwespeak.org at Union Square Park last year, the group decided to get permits. SO SO MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE. If you plan to have a sound system {we used one small speaker and one microphone}, then you are actually required to obtain TWO DIFFERENT Permits - one from the NYC Parks Dept AND one from the NYPD. You will have to pay for both {$70}.

So much for free speech.



We applied, we waited, we called, we left a message, we emailed, we waited, we called, we went there, we left a message, we called our City Council Rep, her office called {During one phone conversation, an aide said, “It’s incredible that an elected offficial can’t get through to a City agency!”}, we called her back, they called again, we waited, we emailed, her office called back, we went there again, we left a message, on and on, ad naseum... for over two weeks! Finally, due largely to our elected rep’s help, we were “granted” a permit. At the midnight hour, we got the blasted piece of paper which then had to be taken to the NYPD to apply for the second permit. I guesstimate that at least 20 hours was spent on the effort {$300.-500. Worth of peopletime}. We went through this same process for each of the SWS events.

So when the City and the officials and the articles say “get a permit”, be prepared to be persistant, assertive, and patient. Give Parks a month or more to respond. I kid you not.

Here is the parade permit application form. could come in handy. i for one am going to apply now for every time i plan to walk or bicycle with someone else, just incase we happen to break a law.

seriously though, the problem is that they are going to selectively enforce the law. they are obviously not going to arrest a group of 40 japanese tourists or you and your grandmother when you jaywalk, but they are breaking the exact same law as the political protesters and bicyclists who will get arrested.

Puzzled,

These radical anarchist hijackers who ride their bikes in groups have ruined democracy and freedom for everyone, and they like to eat baby puppies while fire-bombing ambulances. Thus, as a responsible Police Commissioner, I'm issuing a zero tolerance policy on the First Amendment, and anyone who seeks to flaut my authority and exercise it.

I heart NYC.

Ray

"throwing shit at people"?

"breaking windows"?

And this happened When??? Odd that the police and the Press failed to mention it...

Mamba, how's this for an idea: People are held accountable for their actions only. Or do you prefer asking the Gov't for permission to Assemble?

Can someone please please please articulate a reasonable argument in favor of this proposed rule? Because I don't think anyone's ever heard one.

Critical Mass events are generally loud, unruly and highly obnoxious - people on foot can't cross streets.

Look, cyclists, just because you can use your body to go 30Mph doesn't give you the right to ride around swearing and throwing shit at people and calling others facists for using cars, breaking windows, etc. during these events - if any of you try to deny this sort of stuff happens, you're lying to yourselves - the participants of Critical Mass have ruined it for all cyclists in the city and, since CM serves no purpose other than to enforce its own existence, it should be shut down until the riders can show some sort of maturity. End of story.

i just applied (and was rejected) for walking down Delancey Street this evening with four friends. I guess we'll have to act like we don't know each other on the way to the show. Rats!

This persecution is ridiculous. What no one mentions here is that bikers are utilizing a healthy, efficient, and environmentally friendly means of transportation. We're not the fat guys laughing at you as you try to get off the subway, and we're not the Muni workers parking their SUVs on the sidewalks. Rather than being applauded for helping make NY a more fluid and liveable city, bikers get marginalized, criminalized, and too often arrested.

I can't help but think about the Mayor salivating for the $76/month I'm not paying for a MetroCard.

and so far it's PC ray kelly making up the law instead of enforcing them.

"10-4" you left out:

"can be arrested for parading without a permit."

Normally, your not arrested for crossing against the light. The 1st Amendment says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The Mayor seriously need to pull the Bike Seat out and relax...

#5 - You don't get it - you don't get to decide if you've broken the law or not, the police do.

10-4 Good Buddy,

You're trying to tell me you've never Jaywalked??

You are amazing.

Actually, if you RTFA, they cannot arrest people merely for walking down the street:

**who violate any traffic law, rule or regulation**

Don't break the law, don't get arrested. Pretty simple.

This is fucking bullshit. Fascism!

The real issue is not that the police will use this against EVERYONE, it's that it makes breaking the law so commonplace that they can pretty much arrest ANYONE that disagrees with the current administration.

"Any group of two (yes, 2) or more cyclists or pedestrians traveling down a public street, who violate any traffic law, rule or regulation can be arrested for parading without a permit."???

Is the Mayor's Administration on CRACK?!?

Your tourist analogy is perfect. I Can see it Now:

Tour Guide: "We're Walking, We're Walking, Oh! Hurry up and Cross the Walk!"

Officer: "Excuse Me, Ma'am! Do you have a Parade Permit?? If not, we'll have to Arrest you and your Farmers from Kansas..."

At lunch, I go for a walk every day with 2 or more Co-Workers, I wonder if they'll let me apply for a Daily Parade Permit???

Must call 311 and Ask!

This "war on cyclists" is reaching the absurd. More than two cyclists count as a PARADE? Gimme a fucking break. The NYPD should spend its time worrying about actual crime and not the cyclists. Hey! I know! Let's crack down on MOTOR VEHICLE violations. When's the last time you saw someone get a ticket for blocking the box?

Absolutely disgraceful.