If the peace and quiet around Mayor Bloomberg's mansion or the forced sterility of Union Square isn't enough to convince you that the NYPD is using your tax dollars appropriately, let this arrest of a cyclist and Vietnam veteran after not breaking the law assuage you. more ›

On the last Friday of every month, advocates for better bicycling conditions in NYC gather in Union Square park to embark on an unplanned group ride. Part social outing, part demonstration, Critical Mass has tangled with the NYPD at least as far back as the Republican Convention, when police set the tone for the weekend's protest by arresting 200 cyclists, many of whom weren't released until well over 24 hours later. Despite lawsuits, the NYPD continues to deploy a heavy police presence at Critical Mass, and last month's ride was no exception, with over 20 cops on motorcycles on hand. The number of cyclists? 10. Here's video... with the right set of eyes you can almost see your tax dollars spiraling down the toilet: more ›

The city has agreed to pay $965,000 dollars to cyclists arrested during the monthly Critical Mass rides. This is on top of the money the city spends to have a small army of cops on scooters issue summons to cyclists during the monthly rides. And the settlement doesn't include the lawsuits filed by bike riders arrested during the Republican National Convention in 2004. That's when the troubles began; for over a decade the NYPD had cooperated with the monthly ride, treating it like a parade and even stopping traffic at intersections so cyclists could pass. Here's video documentation from 1999, around the 1:30 mark: more ›

This is rich: During last month's Critical Mass ride, cops ticketed a cyclist for riding outside of the bike lane—which other cops were blocking in an SUV so they could videotape everyone participating in the ride. But the law states that cyclists are not required to ride in a bike lane if they perceive it as unsafe, and what could be safer than a bike lane protected by New York's finest? The woman who shot this short video didn't see it that way, and it's fun to watch her pester the cops until they finally give up and drive on. [SPOILER ALERT] It seems the key to keeping cars out of bike lanes is relentless whining. more ›

Patrick Pogan, the former NYPD officer who was caught on tape in 2008 violently shoving a cyclist off his bike, seemingly without provocation, faced up to four years in prison for a felony conviction of filing a false criminal complaint against cyclist Christopher Long. But yesterday Justice Maxwell Wiley (a Pataki appointee) sent a clear message to all those following the high-profile case: Lying cops suffer no consequences. And the "sentence," a "conditional discharge" which set no conditions, was even more lenient than Pogan's lawyer, Stuart London, had recommended. more ›

Aaaand what did you expect? NY1 reports that Patrick Pogan, the former NYPD officer who was caught on tape in 2008 violently shoving a cyclist off his bike, seemingly without provocation, will not spend any time in jail for filing a false criminal complaint against cyclist Christopher Long. more ›

Patrick Pogan, the former NYPD officer who was caught on tape violently shoving a cyclist off his bike, seemingly without provocation, during a 2008 Critical Mass ride, is expected to be sentenced today. In April, a jury found Pogan guilty of filing a false criminal complaint against cyclist Christopher Long, which stated that Long had knocked him to the pavement, not vice-versa. But Pogan, 24, was acquitted of assault and harassment charges. Still, he could face up to four years in prison. Or maybe he'll just get probation, you never know. How's you faith in the criminal justice system doing this morning? more ›

To round out the first week of Bike Month NYC, here are a couple of pro-cycling videos. The first is from last night's David Bowie bike ride, during which a group of glam cyclists pedaled and danced around with Ziggy blasting from mobile speakers. Why, you ask? Well, their ride through the East Village was intended to "raise awareness for creating a more sustainable NYC," according to Time's Up. "Bowie has always had cutting-edge fashion concepts and music ideas much like Time's Up! pushing the boundaries on sustainable change," says Bill DiPaola, director of Time's Up. more ›

Christopher Long, the bicyclist shoved by a police officer during a 2008 Critical Mass ride, was at last night's Critical Mass ride. This comes just a day after the verdict that found former cop Patrick Pogan guilty of falsifying records but not of an assault on Long. Long said, "I don't think Pogan ever intended to assault me so I am not disappointed at all with the verdict. I think it suits the events to my liking," adding, "I do hope that we can all just chill out." more ›

There's a wide range of reactions to yesterday's mixed verdict in the trial of former cop Patrick Pogan, who was convicted of filing a false criminal complaint (a felony), but acquitted of assaulting cyclist Christopher Long (video) in Times Square during a 2008 Critical Mass ride. "I think the charge should have been attempted murder," shouted gadfly Christopher X. Broduer outside the courthouse yesterday. Patrick Lynch of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association predicted, "This will have a chilling effect on every new, young officer... when they realize that mistakes now become crimes," Here's video of Broduer interrupting Lynch's press conference like Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now: more ›

It took them almost three days, and they came back with a mixed bag. The jury in the trial of former cop Patrick Pogan has found him guilty of filing a false criminal complaint against cyclist Christopher Long, which stated that cyclist Christopher Long had knocked him to the pavement, not vice-versa. Everyone who saw this video knows that Pogan's version of events defied reality, and the jury agreed. more ›

Jury deliberations began Tuesday in the case of obviously guilty alleged cyclist assaulter and police report liar Patrick Pogan, whom the whole world saw violently shove a bike rider to the curb without provocation during a 2008 Critical Mass ride. Today is Thursday. What could possibly be taking so long? more ›

Attorneys made closing arguments yesterday in the trial of former NYPD officer Patrick Pogan, who faces up to four years in prison if the jury decides that he falsified police documents after the violent arrest of a cyclist during a 2008 Critical Mass ride through Times Square. He also faces up to three months in jail if found guilty of attempted assault. Yesterday, lawyers on both sides took their final shots. more ›

In a stunning reversal, former cop Patrick Pogan—whom countless people saw in a YouTube video slamming a cyclist off his bike during a 2008 Critical Mass ride—has acknowledged what everyone with eyes and an Internet connection already knows: that Christopher Long did not ride his bicycle "directly into [Pogan's] body, causing [Pogan] to fall to the ground," as written in the police report. more ›

Patrick Pogan, the former cop who was caught on tape slamming a cyclist off his bike during a 2008 Critical Mass ride, had been on the job only 11 days before the infamous incident. For that reason, he was part of a group of rookies instructed to simply observe the more experienced officers in Times Square on that fateful night, according to testimony from his superior, Sergeant Eric Perez. "I told them to let the detail enforce the laws," Perez said on the witness stand yesterday. "We wanted them there as backup, not to actually engage and stop." more ›

Yesterday we shared a new video showing more of the arrest of cyclist Christopher Long during a 2008 Critical Mass bike ride through Times Square. Arresting Officer Patrick Pogan faces a misdemeanor assault charge for knocking Long off his bike, seemingly without provocation, plus a felony charge of filing a false report, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail. But with the second video further undermining Pogan's claim that Long was trying to hit him with his bike, defense lawyers desperately tried to win the jury over with a stoner defense: If Long smoked grass, you must give Pogan a pass. more ›

The former NYPD officer caught on tape slamming a cyclist to the curb in a seemingly unprovoked assault during a 2008 Critical Mass ride will go on trial Monday. Patrick Pogan was a rookie cop with less than a month on the job when he was videotaped (watch below) violently knocking cyclist Christopher Long off his bike. The top charge against him is filing a false criminal complaint, which is a felony carrying anywhere from probation to four years. (He's also charged with misdemeanor assault.) But his attorney will argue that the video doesn't tell the whole story. more ›

One year before the infamous bike body-slam video of 2008 cost NYPD officer Patrick Pogan his job, another cop was caught on video knocking a cyclist off his bike during a Critical Mass ride. Like Pogan, Sergeant Timothy Horohoe's account of the arrest differs dramatically from the video evidence, but unlike Pogan, Horohoe was never brought up on criminal charges or NYPD administrative charges. However, the city has agreed to pay $97,751 to settle a lawsuit filed against the NYPD for wrongfully detaining and arresting five cyclists during the March 2007 Critical Mass ride. This video, provided by the Glass Bead Collective, dubs audio from Sgt. Horohoe's sworn testimony over footage of the arrest. (For the uninitiated, what you're smelling is the unmistakable scent of NYPD uniform pants on fire): more ›

It was almost a year ago that a Times Square tourist happened to videotape a police officer's seemingly unprovoked assault on a cyclist during a Critical Mass group bike ride. The video, which depicts rookie cop Patrick Pogan slamming 30-year-old cyclist Christopher Long off his bike, sparked widespread outrage and ended up costing Pogan his job (getting caught filing a false police report didn't help his case, either). Long is now living in rural Wisconsin and working on a farm, but according to his lawyer, "There is psychological trauma, which explains why he is not living in New York City right now. It is a terrible experience for him to go through." So naturally he's suing the city, for $1.5 million, to help ease the pain. more ›

The season's second Williamsburg Walks took place this weekend (last Saturday was rained out), with Bedford Avenue closed to traffic from North 4th to North 9th Streets. Community groups set up tables, chairs, blankets and pillows for passers-by to linger and chat, and an atmosphere of peaceful conviviality prevailed—until the teenagers came with their accursed skateboards! With its indoor half-pipe, the KCDC skate shop on Wythe has been a magnet for skaters for years now, and on Saturday the place was packed for Go Skateboarding Day, with hundreds of youths rolling over to Bedford to gleam the cube. more ›

The Critical Mass ride that wrapped up Bike Month last Friday night saw an increase in participants, as well as an increase in summonses for "failure to keep right" while cycling, which biking advocates maintain is not a valid ticket and is regularly dismissed in court. (The rule in question, RCNY 4-12(p)(3), states that "Bicyclists may ride on either side of one-way roadways that are at least 40 feet wide.") Over a dozen summonses were issued, some during a sting at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge, where police wrote tickets for cyclists without front and rear lights. more ›

If you care about cycling in New York, or just about your Constitutional right as a citizen to freely assemble, the transcript from the first day of testimony in the lawsuit over NYPD's ongoing crackdown on Critical Mass is a fun read. The defense spent most of the day trying to establish that the police have been selectively enforcing Critical Mass rides by coming down heavy on the Manhattan rides while cooperating with the Brooklyn rides. Then, during the afternoon session, someone pulled a Pacino in And Justice for All, bursting into the courtroom yelling, "This is a corrupt system you've got here!" And in cross examining Critical Mass participant Madeline Nelson, lawyers for the city brought up a typical example of ridiculous NYPD cyclist harassment: "Q. At that ride we are speaking about you were issued a summons for an improper taillight, correct? A. That's right, I was. Q. And isn't it correct that your bicycle did not have a taillight at the time that summons was issued? A. Yes, but I had a taillight mounted on my helmet... And I did, in fact, offer to move that light then onto the bicycle and, nonetheless, I was summonsed for not having it mounted on the bike when it was in fact on my helmet and flashing." more ›

A trial challenging the NYPD's classification of group bicycle rides like Critical Mass as "parades" kicked off today in United States District Court in Manhattan. Two years ago, the NYPD began enforcing a controversial new rule that requires groups of 50 or more to apply for permits when taking to the streets for processions, races and protests. The new policy gave legal legitimacy to a police crackdown on the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rides, which have been a source of tension between cyclists and cops since the Republican convention in 2004. more ›

The NYPD officer caught on tape bodyslamming a cyclist to the curb during a group Critical Mass ride through Times Square last July has been fired. Though charges of assault, harassment and filing a bogus police report are still pending against rookie cop Patrick Pogan, a spokesman for the NYPD confirmed that he was dismissed ten days ago and that the termination was directly related to the Critical Mass incident. But Stuart London, a lawyer for Pogan, tells the Times the NYPD didn't fire his client—he quit in order to "concentrate his efforts on fighting the criminal charges that are against him, so that when he is ultimately acquitted he can reapply to the Police Department." Referring to the NYPD's claim that Pogan was canned, London says, "They make errors all the time." Indeed! A spokesperson for advocacy group Times Up had this to say: "The NYPD is taking a heavy hand on dealing with this police officer, but we hope that Mayor Bloomberg will direct the higher-ups at the NYPD to discontinue their pattern of dangerous tactics and selective enforcement against cyclists." more ›

As expected, NYPD officer Patrick Pogan, the rookie cop caught on video slamming a cyclist to the curb in a seemingly unprovoked assault during a July Critical Mass ride, turned himself in this morning. The grand jury indictment was then unsealed at State Supreme Court in Manhattan, and, according to NY1, Pogan was arraigned on a misdemeanor assault charge and a felony charge of filing a false report. (After arresting cyclist Christopher Long that night, Pogan accused Long of attempting assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct, contending that Long rode his bike straight into him, knocking them both down. Those charges against Long were later dropped.) more ›

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Surprising no one, the cyclist who was captured on videotape being violently slammed off his bike by a rookie cop during a July Critical Mass ride plans to sue the city. In his first interview, Christopher Long also tells Chelsea Now that after Officer Patrick Pogan knocked him to the curb, he stood over Long and asked, "Do you wanna try that again?" Long also says he thinks Pogan "is going to be a scapegoat in this situation because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time...I think that the department really helped him do what he did, because he felt safe to act that way. He felt entitled to act that way. That’s the department, culturally. The department set him up for failure. He committed a crime, he assaulted me. He didn’t do that by himself." Long spent 27 hours in the Tombs after his arrest and was charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The D.A. finally dropped the charges earlier this month; Pogan is still under investigation. more ›

On July 30th, NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly promised that New Yorkers would be able to send video and text straight to police in a “relatively short period of time.” And he actually delivered! The image software, which cost about $250,000, also serves the city's 311 non-emergency hot line, so don't hesitate to gather cell phone video of potholes and graffiti. According to WABC, New York is the first American city with the capability to accept images. 911 callers who have cell phone video or photos of a crime are instructed to inform the operator, and a detective with the NYPD's cool-sounding Real Time Crime Center will call back to receive the images. The evidence can also be submitted anonymously (details here), and by next year photos sent in by bystanders will be transmitted to patrol cars in the area. more ›

UPDATE: As expected, the Manhattan District Attorney has dropped all charges against Christopher Long, per this press release from Times Up. more ›

This week marked the fifth anniversary of the 2003 Blackout. Ten years ago the Yankees were dominating their way through summer en route to one of their best seasons in the franchise's history. But this summer, newsmakers seem to be scratching their heads when trying to figure out just what could be the New York story of the summer of 2008. more ›