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Critical Mass, June
 IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RIDE A BICYCLE IN A PROCESSION ON THE PUBLIC STREETS WITHIN NEW YORK CITY |
I missed last month's ride (and I'm unfortunately going to be out of town for July's) but this month's was significantly different from April. I'm guessing it's the weather that brought so many more riders out (although the ride in April was on a fine day) because the rides just have a natural tendency to swell during the warmer months. This time during the rally speeches at Union Square, the Community Affairs cops were handing out flyers "request[ing our] cooperation in complying with the law and protecting the public from harm." The fliers go on to inform us we need a permit for any "bicycle procession" and that one has not been issued for June 24, therefore "if you choose to ride in a procession this evening, you may be arrested and your bicycle may be seized."
I saw more than one person crumble it up and throw it in the trash disgustedly. The speeches ended around 7:30 when their permit ran out and the bikers only millled for maybe 10 minutes more (as opposed to the twenty or thirty it took in April) before the ride took off. April's ride was maybe 50 bikes; this ride was closer to 300 or 400. It followed Broadway to Houston and then west to 6th Ave, at which point it took over the road completely, cheered on by crowds on the sidewalks. Somewhere around the high teens, the scooter police showed up -- easily a dozen of them -- and trailed the ride, keeping their distance. An unmarked police SUV joined them a few blocks later. The ride then moved further west in the low 30s to 8th Ave all the way north to the 50's, then back east for a few loops through Columbus Circle. Again, the police stayed at the tail of the ride and I was beginning to think they were going to let it happen and maybe even keep the cross traffic in check.
At this point -- and it was hard to see from my vantage -- I think a fair number of riders left the Circle and headed up Broadway while the majority chose Central Park West. I don't know what happened to the riders who went up Broadway. At 65th, the ride turned east through the park and out to the East Side. Now, at this point, the ride's been going along smoothly for probably close to an hour. I'm convinced the cops are going to let it go, because what's the point after letting people ride that long? In April, they did everything in their power to break it up at every turn: calling ahead to cruisers to cut bikers off, aggresively riding their scooters up into the pack of bicycle riders, sending out a helicopter to track the last of the riders into the night.
Obviously, I was wrong. As the front of the pack slowed to wait for the southbound traffic on Park Ave, the ride got caught up in a stop on 65th between Park and Madison. For reasons known only to them, the cops at the tail decided they'd had enough. I was fortunately on the sidewalk at this point with my camera, so I saw it, but I unfortunately got only a few seconds of it on film, as I was moving fast to get out of their way. Without warning, the scooters moved quickly up into the back of the ride and each cop cutoff a cyclist, forcing them to dismount and drop their bike on the ground. They arrested 6 riders and as far as I can tell, let the whole of the ride in front of them go.
I stayed behind to shoot the arrests, so I don't know what happened to the rest of the ride. By my count, 12 police on scooters stopped to arrest 6 riders. By the time additional cruisers and trucks arrived, there were nearly 30 police on hand. I don't pretend to understand the point of their actions. Maybe they thought it was clever to lull everybody into thinking the ride was going to happen without a hitch. Maybe they just got sick of following us and had to arrest somebody to fill a quota. The good thing is the ride continues and the city didn't have as many police assigned to it this time, so they weren't able to stop it completely the way they did in April. I hope that's a sign for the future. I'll hopefully have a bit of the video footage put together later in the week for everybody to see.
Posted by Matt Ransford on 06/25/2005 | Permalink
Comments
Thanks for shooting that. I hope nobody was playing music in the background!
Posted by: Nina | Jun 25, 2005 12:28:35 PM
Btw, Visual Resistance has done another "ghost bike" memorial, for a 25-year-old cyclist who was killed on Houston this week:
http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/?p=201
Posted by: carrie | Jun 25, 2005 12:32:01 PM
Get a life! How about if I organize a Critical Mass walk, and get 20,000 people to walk around and clog up your bike ride. That would give you selfish jerks a taste of your own self-righteousness.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 25, 2005 12:35:19 PM
quote Jim: "Get a life! How about if I organize a Critical Mass walk, and get 20,000 people to walk around and clog up your bike ride. That would give you selfish jerks a taste of your own self-righteousness."
Got to it Jim, I think it would be great. Why do you think automobiles have exclusive rights to the city streets? Because they're larger and capable of menacing people? Does might make right?
Anyone who spends time in other more enlightened cities where whole streets are closed (either part time of full time) to auto traffic knows how wonderful these pedestrian friendly destinations can be. People can casually stroll without their Freedom of Movement being threatened by motorized vehicles. New York City would be a much more attractive, livable and I daresay a more economically viable city if large portions of streets were closed either part time or full time to common auto traffic. Critical Mass is one way to demonstrate how wonderful our public spaces can be when we refuse to allow one particular form of intrusive transportation to dominate that space.
Riding last night, I often could see people sitting by their apartment windows happily watching the parade of cyclists. What compelled these people to suddenly go to the window and look out? Because, for a rare instance, the cacophany of noise attributible to automobiles had ceased. These people suddenly realized they didn't know what they had been missing. Peace and quiet on their streets.
Posted by: drewo | Jun 25, 2005 3:09:41 PM
the group crossed over the queensboro bridge and was met by two police vans that came racing up to meet riders as they came off the bridge,
I watched both vans hop two curbs and sidewalks and then a plain clothed fat cop clothes line / tackle some 5 foot nothing girl on a bike.. most people dropped off soon after that but whatever was left headed for williamsburg..
Posted by: jerome | Jun 25, 2005 4:40:04 PM
Look at any city street; most of the cars are taxis taking people (visitors, spending money, and completely unfamiliar with the city) where they need to go. What's not a cab is usually a delivery truck taking goods where they need to go. These are the things that make the city "economically viable." I've got an idea: why don't we shut down all the streets and the whole city so you can have a great big bike park to play in - only you have to promise to kick in the money lost on tourists and goods (including your new bitchin' bike helmet) that won't get around anymore. Unless you want to carry them on your bike.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 25, 2005 9:54:13 PM
Jim, Jim, Jimmmmmmmmmmm,
Inconvenienced by bikes one evening a month? I think there may be a job in Homeland Security for you some day.
Bikeriders pay taxes and have as much right to use the streets as anyone else, even though the laws and the habits-of-mind of most American drivers conflict.
By the way, there may be a few taxis and delivery trucks in the clog at certain central locations at rush hour, but I look CLOSELY and see that mostly there are gas guzzling American cars with ONE PASSENGER: THE DRIVER.
The more critical mass does to discourage driving the more we are serving to the city, the climate and posterity.
Posted by: liberal elite | Jun 25, 2005 11:28:45 PM
Re liberal elite: Let's just hope you don't need an ambulance that one evening per month.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 26, 2005 12:53:15 PM
quote Jim "Look at any city street; most of the cars are taxis taking people (visitors, spending money, and completely unfamiliar with the city) where they need to go. What's not a cab is usually a delivery truck taking goods where they need to go. These are the things that make the city "economically viable." "
Look at more than the street Jim, look at the sidewalks too. Check out 5th Avenue in midtown on the weekend, or come down to the streets of Soho. See how crowded the sidewalks are with pedestrians? So crowded that people are forced to walk into the street to keep moving! How do we solve this overcrowding? Here's some ideas that are not terribly far-fetched. Begin by widening the sidewalks and removing car lanes. Think of it like a stomach-staple; less room for cars will mean less cars on the streets. Less taxis will force the money-spending visitors to use mass transportation. No problem, the subways are well-marked and easy to use. And we all know how Ms. Visitor loves to go back to Smalltown, USA and boast to her friends how she took a ride on the NYC subway. Then close some stretches of roadway, like 5th Avenue in midtown and Broadway below Houston, to automobiles for the bulk of weekend hours. Make them one big pedestrian mall. Do you think it will be crowded with people? I think it would be a massive succcess. Repave parts of these streets with cobblestones to make it more pedestrian appealing, and to force drivers to drive slower when they use the roads. And those delivery trucks bringing my new helmet? Schedule the deliveries for off hours (say early-morning before 9am or late night after 10pm using dedicated "commercial vehicle-only" lanes). Some delivery services and shop owners may feel that they are being inconvenienced -- the increase in foot traffic to their businesses will make up for it.
The idea is to prioritize the movement of the people over the movement of motorized traffic. The administration in this city pays a lot of lip service to quality-of-life and how this city is "the greatest" in the world. But it's only lip service. These are ways to improve the quality of life for the residents and the visitors to this city, and to keep business thriving.
Posted by: drewo | Jun 26, 2005 1:04:12 PM
quote Jim: "Re liberal elite: Let's just hope you don't need an ambulance that one evening per month."
Emergency vehicles trying to get through heavy traffic is a big problem. Ever see how automobiles fail to heed sirens right behind them? Often the autos can't move because they are bulky machines difficult to maneuver in tight spaces. Or the drivers are on cellphones or listening to music and oblivious to what is happening right behind them.
What do you think would be easier to dispel if an emergency vehicle needs to get through a crowded street. A group of bicyclists or a street packed with automobiles? Right -- the bicyclists.
Posted by: drewo | Jun 26, 2005 1:16:14 PM
I like it when there are a lot of cars on the streets because when I take the bus to save money I'm always late to wherever I'm going due to traffic and the buses in my neighborhood only come every 20 minutes because the transportation authority is starved while public works for highways and roads always seem to have neat projects to accomodate drivers. While it's incoveniencing and I will more than likely develop asthma or lung cancer by the time I'm thirty-five from living in a densely populated neighborhood with a great deal of auto traffic, at least I have an excuse to be late to work. Oh, and I hate culture and society.
Posted by: chuck | Jun 26, 2005 1:58:21 PM
Re Drewo: All great ideas that should be reasonable to implement (except for the one that expects small-towners to figure out the subway system, but when the draft is reinstated beginning with those from the Red states, that should take care of that problem). I'm always on the street in Soho and I know what you mean; we have to make the city safer for foot traffic. Oh, and in my experience as a pedestrian walking the city, I've had more near-misses from assholes on bikes than I've ever had from cars. And let's remember, bikes are vehicles capable of high speed and inflicting serious damage to pedestrians - just like a car.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 26, 2005 3:49:39 PM
I liked your bike story. When I was a kid growing up in Park Slope I would ride my bike all the way to Manhattan Beach and beyond. It was the best part of my childhood.
Its a great way to stay in shape and its a lot of fun.
Posted by: Tim Mack | Jun 26, 2005 9:34:00 PM
Jim worked on as "And let's remember, bikes are vehicles capable of high speed and inflicting serious damage to pedestrians - just like a car."
OK we all heard that argument. Sorry you got scared by the close call with bike. You better be scared seriously more on cars, Jim.
Pedestrian-Bicycle Collisions in NYC
http://www.transalt.org/blueprint/chapter17/table17.html
1992 Pedestrian-Motor Vehicle Collisions 13,599
Pedestrian Fatalities 294 (2.16%)
1992 Pedestrian-Bicycle Collisions 298
Pedestrian Fatalities 2 (0.67%)
Also Bicycle and Pedestrian Collisions in the District of Columbia: 1997 - 1999
http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1237,q,547326,mpdcNav_GID,1549,mpdcNa v,%7C.asp
btw, Injury-Related Deaths:
Motor Vehicle 40,982
Suicide 30,484
Homicide 25,488
Falls 12,646
Poisonings 7,082
Fires/Burns 4,803
Drowning 4,186
Other 19,984
Total 145,655
(CDC 1992)
Quoted from Is Cycling Dangerous?
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm
Also Auto Costs Versus Bike Costs
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/advocacy/autocost.htm
Posted by: mz | Jun 26, 2005 11:19:33 PM
Re. Jim's "Emergency Vehicles" argument: Critical Mass always gets out of the way of emergency vehicles. Cars can't do that, obviously. The NYPD has stated this as a reason for demonizing Critical Mass, but really it's about the City government's increasing dislike of large groups amassing.
I don't own a bike, but I'm all for Jim's suggestion for a pedestrian demonstration. I'm there, provided we can block cars too.
Posted by: Jason Grote | Jun 28, 2005 8:32:12 PM
Great debate and interesting points made. Let me get to my sticking point: breaking the law, for whatever very important reasons, including organized demonstration, comes with consequences. After the Republican Convention last summer, I'm sick of people complaining and seeming shocked when there are real, and frankly, pretty well known, consequences to their actions. Like, you’re gonna get arrested. Getting arrested for demonstrating used to come with a badge of honor. Now it seems some just yell that they're going to sue and feel justified that they are righteous. Are people watching too much daytime TV or something?
Demonstrating is important and comes with a risk. That's why it is hard work to be out there on the front lines. BECAUSE SOMETHING BAD MIGHT HAPPEN TO YOU.
Are some folks thinking Critical Mass is just for their personal enjoyment and that it's not a political form of agitation?
Matt’s coverage was excellent, but come on, cops don't have to "fill a quota". They are doing the job we pay them for and the city tells them to do. One which involves stopping illegal activities.
I'm a cyclist, Transportation Alternatives member, and a Critical Mass rider, too, and fully support the demonstration. But the ride is illegal. If you think this fact is wrong, that is the thing to attack. Not the cops who are, to Matt's description, seemingly allowing some room for demonstration (handing out leaflets informing soon-to-be riders of the legal risks involved, following the ride for an hour as opposed to stopping it as in April) and then trying to do what the city tells them they must do. I'm not defending individual cops here, b/c I wasn't at this ride, (and before you get your claws out, no, it's totally not OK for anyone to use excessive force on a cyclist, like the description of "clotheslining" above) but I’m just so tired of
1 - how some think critical mass and other demonstration is easy, fun, and risk free
2 - how fashionable it is to criticize the easy targets – the cops who have a hard, crappy job to do.
Is anyone else here that is complaining giving money or time to great organizations like Transportation Alternatives who actually work to improve the world for cyclists and pedestrians? I hope so.
Posted by: lynn | Jun 29, 2005 11:34:34 AM
It's well known that police have quotas to fill. What better example than from a few years ago when the Bloomberg administration had cops issuing tickets for sitting on the stairs in the subway when the city was strapped for cash? A set number of people need to be ticketed or arrested to justify the budgets for the next year. It's like any public works project -- if the need for more roads isn't shown, the DOT won't get the money. Granted, I'm over simplifying here.
I only meant it as an off-handed remark. I realize the police have a job to do and it's not up to them whether they arrest people or not. It's the variances that surprise and confuse me. Why were the police in riot gear in April and casual in June?
My issue is with what critical mass has become for no reason other than the administration in the White House. It used to be a peaceful, safe, legal, nearly risk-free demonstration and now it is not, through no fault of its own. I would welcome people to think CM is for their personal enjoyment -- why not? Not everybody wants to be an agitator. What better way to involve yourself with an event that has different meanings for different people?
Posted by: Matt Ransford | Jun 29, 2005 12:31:20 PM
About the legality of the ride....isn't it legal to ride a bike in the street in NYC?
Traffic signals should be obeyed to keep it legal, but let's remember that if a car runs a red light, the driver gets a ticket. If Crit Mass runs the light, they might be arrested or attacked by the police or both.
I don't ride, but the concept of public space and what we're all allowed to do out there in the world is pretty important to me.
Posted by: pitu | Jun 29, 2005 7:18:14 PM
lynn I've heard the same tales from… cops.
Posted by: mz | Jun 29, 2005 11:02:58 PM
Hey Matt -
Where are those pictures you mentioned of June 24th? I was one of those arrested.
Also, as a word to Jerome - There are certainly ways of getting people around without taxis. They're called pedicabs, and you'll find hundreds of them around Midtown...
Posted by: Wendy Scher | Jul 18, 2005 2:47:22 PM
