Cops Apologize For Ticketing 9 Out Of 10 Central Park Cyclists

In a shocking turn of events on par with the fall of the Berlin Wall or the Black Eyed Peas' popularity, the NYPD went to the homes of cyclists last night and apologized for handing out speeding tickets early yesterday morning in Central Park (video). Yes, we have confirmed at this hour that cops have personally apologized to bicycle riders. Let's just let that sink in a minute... Getting a little misty-eyed over here! Okay, now back to reality: The NYPD apology was not for ticketing "speeding" cyclists per se, but for "erroneously" ticketing cyclists. Nine out of ten cyclists have had their tickets voided, but a tenth cyclist still faces a $275 speeding ticket because he was busted "correctly."

Last night the president of the New York Cycle Club told members that "all 10 tickets will be voided. You will not have to go to court. This is the doing of Chief Morris of NYPD Manhattan North, with whom we have met, who was chagrined to hear of the tickets, who personally called me earlier to share this and ask that it be passed along." One cyclist, David Regen, was sitting down to dinner last night when the police showed up to apologize. "They said, ‘We’re here because we’re withdrawing your ticket because we feel you were treated unfairly,' " Regen tells the Times. It's unclear if the police also brought Regen an apology bear and some scented candles, but it's a start.

Regen's ticket was voided because the police who set up the speed trap believed the speed limit to be 15 mph. According to the Central Park Conservancy, the official speed limit in that part of the park is 25 mph, but there are old faded signs put up in the early '90s that set the speed at 15 mph. So all those speed demon cyclists caught going between 15-25 mph are off the hook—but one of the Central Park Ten wasn't so fortunate.

Michael Margarite, an amateur racer who works at a private-equity fund, was slapped with a $275 speeding ticket. Unlike the others, his ticket was not voided, because he was barreling through the park at the insane speed of 28 mph. Slow down, Mario Andretti! Putting a brave face on the situation, Margarite tells the Wall Street Journal, "At least they didn't get me doing an interval workout."

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By John Del Signore in News on March 23, 2011 10:18 AM

Comments [rss]

Terry Harrigan

They are just setting them up for April 1st when the NYPD are back in force and ticketing infractions such as breathing too hard, breaking wind, tailgating another cyclist.

blindmalice

But are their profiles erased after the NYPD ran checks on thier IDs prior to writing the tickets?

RabbiLaFunque

Bicyclists in the news again. Yawn.

diablofreak

you're on gothambikers.com, what did you expect? tool!

/sarcasm

randomtransplant

Frankly I'm surprised that domain's not taken.

jaycjay

"...then apologizing for it, insteading of doing actual police work."

"...and probably getting paid overtime while visiting the homes of the people the ticketed."

"Yep, good use of police resources to (A) ticket the cyclists in the first place and then (B) to visit their homes and rescind tickets."

Apparently some clarification is in order: the cops who visited the homes of the people ticketed weren't the ones who wrote the tickets. They were with the Community Affairs Bureau, so were doing the kind of job their paid to do, building "police-community relations" as the NYPD puts it.

jibbly

That's not as funny. Damn. All those "h"s and "a"s typed for nuthin'.

Guest

Holy shit - some of you are real freaking babies. They fucked up by giving the tickets and then they went back and made it right after their mistake was pointed out to them. So most of you whine about that. Or if they sent a form letter, you would have whined too. Or went on some other enforcement duty, you would have whined about that too.

It seems like the only positive outcome for some of you is if the cops went ahead on this full bore so your skewed little worldviews wouldn't be challenged.

drew_o

Maybe because it's the NYPD Amateur Hour. And we get to pay for it!

GentleGiant

Amazing.

diablofreak

wow wtf.
so cops are now handing out tickets that they shouldn't have in the first place, then apologizing for it, insteading of doing actual police work

m015094

And probably getting paid overtime while visiting the homes of the people the ticketed. It'd be great if the cops knew the laws they are paid to enforce, but I guess that is asking too much.

Jamie Newman

HA what an amused douche. Margarite, "at least they didn't catch me doing an interval workout" says the Private Equity schmuck. To paraphrase, I use $275 to line my son's hampster cage, and did I mention I'm in immaculate shape.

John_Del_Signore

Sour grapes, Jamie?

bggb

The answer to that question is yes.

C_Right_THRU_U

that unicyclist is still waiting for his apology...maybe he wouldn't have sued?

kswissreject

Yep, good use of police resources to (A) ticket the cyclists in the first place and then (B) to visit their homes and rescind tickets. Can't they send something in the mail, and use the police time better off somewhere else? Geez. Well, bravo Chief Morris in any case, for rescinding the tickets, even if the method wasn't the best.