fuckers...this is getting out of hand.

Direct violation of the Federal Court ruling.

Plain and simple.
Ride on, Ride hard and Rock a Fucking Bike!

I'm not really a big fan of CM but this is fucking bullshit.

That's in Australia, if anyone cares...

 http://www.thevillager.com/villager_87/criticalmassgetsrideofway.html


Barbara Ross pumped up her bicycle tire after Dec. 24 press conference held by Critical Mass and its attorneys.

Critical Mass gets ‘ride of way;’ injunction denied

By Lincoln Anderson

It looks like it may be a happy new year — or at least New Year’s Eve ride — for Critical Mass. On Dec. 23, U.S. District Court Judge William Pauley III denied a request by the New York City Police Department for a federal injunction to stop the monthly Critical Mass rides in Manhattan unless they get a permit.

In his decision, Pauley noted that the city had been allowing the group bike rides for the past 10 years, but now is demanding that they obtain a permit. That and other questions about the sudden crackdown on the event led Pauley to feel that the situation was too murky to issue an injunction. Also, citing the judicial principle of comity between the state and federal courts, Pauley did not want to intrude in what he considers to be a matter for the state courts.

“After allowing the Critical Mass rides in Manhattan for 10 years without permits…the Police Department has acquiesced to the very conduct it now seeks to prohibit,†Pauley wrote in his decision. “To issue an injunction on such a gossamer thread would stretch this court’s jurisdiction beyond the limited elasticity of [the law].â€

Pauley also ruled against the city’s request that the riders get a Parks Department special events permit to gather at their usual departure point, Union Sq.’s north plaza.

Since the August Critical Mass ride before the Republican National Convention, when police arrested over 250 of the bicyclists, the police have taken a tough stance against the event. Each ensuing month, the police have made arrests, sometimes as many as 40, at the rides.

Participants in the local Critical Mass ride — an event that takes place in 400 cities worldwide — hailed the decision and said it’s now time for the city to stop “targeting†the riders.

“It means the N.Y.P.D. cannot continue to take the hard line,†said Norman Siegel at a Dec. 24 press conference. “Second, I think it means that the hostility will abate.â€

Assistant Corporation Counsel Sheryl Neufeld of the city’s law department said in a statement: “We are disappointed with the court’s ruling…. The city is considering its legal options, including whether to appeal.â€

The city’s law department noted that in his decision, the judge wrote: “ ‘to the extent that Critical Mass participants violate city laws, this ruling does not condone their conduct.’

“The court simply found that the city’s claims against Critical Mass belong in state court, not federal court,†the law department said.

The case was in federal court because the city filed a counterclaim to a federal lawsuit by five riders who sued the city over their locked bikes being confiscated by saw-wielding police at the Sept. 24 Critical Mass ride.

Asked if the city planned to have police keep arresting the bikers, Kate Ahlers O’Brien, a law department spokesperson, said, “My general sense on that is police will continue to police the ride as they have been doing.†However, she added, “It’s a ride — they got a court order to let them proceed. There’s no reason to inflame it. They’re going to ride and we hope it will be peaceful.â€
A police spokesperson issued the following statement on how police will respond to the upcoming ride on Dec. 31.

“Like everyone else, bicyclists are still required to obey the law and we’ll still enforce it. That includes stopping at red lights,†the spokesperson said. He wouldn’t say if police plan to ask the riders to follow a set route. “That’s our statement,†he said, declining to provide more details.

Attorney Siegel said the “difficult issue†that remains is “How do you have a semi-planned event — that the police are trying to expedite so it doesn’t take all night?â€

Siegel said making the riders stop at every red light would just make the ride last longer. Currently, the riders stream through intersections at red lights, blocking, or “corking,†car traffic. The rides usually last for more than an hour.

“Hopefully what happened in San Francisco will be repeated here,†Siegel said. In that city, police escort the riders, he said, under a policy worked out under Mayor Willie Brown.

“The N.Y.P.D. has the chance in the next week,†Siegel said, “does it stop, does it continue or does it get worse?â€

Leah Rorvig, 22, a volunteer with Time’s Up!, the group that publicizes the rides, said a key aspect of the event is that it continues to be “decentralized,†with no leaders and no set format.

“Critical Mass, the real joy of this is it’s a decentralized event,†Rorvig said. Rorvig, an East Village resident, said she, personally, will stop at red lights — but that she couldn’t speak for how others will behave. “We are committed to maintaining the spirit of Critical Mass, which is decentralization,†she said.

“What we’d like to have is a police escort. That really facilitates rides very successfully,†Rorvig said. Under this scheme, the police would follow along with the ride on scooters or in cars, insuring safety. “I think the cyclists would be willing to accept some limits — like don’t go on the F.D.R.,†she added.

Rorvig and others said that the police, in fact, did provide escorts to Critical Mass for the last 10 years. She said she would follow a route if police gave one, but again, couldn’t say what the rest of the Critical Mass bicyclists will do.

In addition, the riders argue that they should merely be given summonses if they break traffic laws, not be arrested.

Barbara Ross and Judy Ross, two sisters who attended the Dec. 24 press conference, said they have been doing the Critical Mass rides since when the rides started at Astor Pl., then Union Sq. S. They said in the last two years the rides have gotten larger, averaging 500 to 1,000 bikers, depending on the weather and circumstances.

Barbara Ross said she commutes to work from the East Village to Midtown by bike and appreciates the feeling of safety in a large mass of bicyclists that the monthly group rides provide.

They said in the past the police were cordial with the riders. There was even a special unit assigned to follow the ride.

“We started to get to know them. It was like the same group,†said Barbara Ross. “If they rode on bicycles, it would be even better. We kind of missed them when they weren’t there anymore.â€

Siegel said it’s time for Mayor Bloomberg to get involved and tell the N.Y.P.D. to back off of the ride.

“The mayor has been terribly quiet on this controversy,†he said. “The mayor is pro-environment. If he doesn’t want this to turn into an election 2005 issue, he’s got to tell the police to chill out.â€

One woman at the press conference wore an “I bike. I vote.†button.

“There’s over 100,000 bike riders in the city of New York,†Siegel noted.

A call to Ed Skyler, the mayor’s press secretary, was not returned.

More photos at http://www.untitledname.com/archives/2005/03/critical_mass_m.html

"fuckers...this is getting out of hand."

Nope, this is the preface to the Revolution. Or, as the police, like their soon-to-be-military comrades will undoubtedly say..."war is war and there are no rules in war". That includes the Constitution which their superiors mock and desecrate for their living.

On With the Revolution....

why is this allowed?
why isn't something being done?
where is the media?
why aren't more new yorkers angry about this?
nex month i'll be the first to get arrested just so others can ride.

Question? was anybody pinched inside park while grates went up, or was it strictly used to seperate riders fm larger formation?

Also lesson learned: netting apparatus set up to trap riders in specific locations, it is a part of
larger initial arresting scheme, however it is the big catch. In order to avoid it, must do as much initial scouting as possible and advise other riders to avoid that location. riders must arrive earlier to do homework. ride must be able to become modular and to re-compile, communication and solidartiy is the key.

Don't let the City dictate the agenda for CM and turn it into some sort of protest. That's exactly what they want so that the large numbers who show up in the good weather months will be turned off. The police actions will eventually be judged in court. In the meantime, stay strong and keep riding.

I witnessed the near-aftermath of this, and I didn't even realize that anyone had been arrested. I blogged it from the park: http://darkdaysahead.blogspot.com/2005/03/they-fought-law-and-law-won.html They Fought The Law And The Law Won I take back what I said about New York lack of entertainment options for the broke. I'm near-live blogging the aftermath of a confrontation between the NYPD and the Critical Mass riders and the legal monitors that just happened here in Union Square (where there's public wifi access). Now where else in the world could I get all that for free? Reality reality is far better than reality TV. Here's the scoop: walking through the park at about 7 p.m., I saw a number of police striding by, and didn't think much of it (other than that I shouldn't be afraid to stop singing my Lauryn Hill just because the police were walking by). Then I heard the bullhorn. The NYPD had a van parked at the northeast corner of Union Square that loudly proclaimed from a recording something along the lines of "If you choose to ride, you will be arrested and your bicycle will be confiscated. Processions that obstruct traffic without permits are not permitted. There is no permit for a procession tonight." Repeat. A Lot. This piqued my curiosity. Although I unfortunately got here after the majority of riders had been scared off (according to a disappointed middle-aged woman who had wanted to ride), there were still a few things I saw that are worth noting: a would-be rider who had a large (like 5 feet high?) wooden cross attached to his back a cyclist who had a sign that said "I'm Not Riding Illegally" on her (his?) back. a crazy looking older guy screaming loudly about how "they've taken away our land, they've taken away..." etc. etc. "you don't deserve freedom." There's always at least one of these guys. I try to be him. Ti Hua Chang of CBS 2 local news, formerly of NBC 4 local news. a rejected rider playing "I fought the law, and the law won" from the boombox in his backpack (hence the unoriginal title to this post:) ). I've witnessed at least one Critical Mass ride in the past and have had my imagination fired by them since I read a description of activist efforts to stop traffic in fun ways in various cities in No Logo. FYI, the purposes are variously to make cities safer for riding; just plain fun; draw attention to cars as a problem; etc. Of course, the assembly I saw was not a top-down hierarchy and I imagine it's similar elsewhere, so I can't imagine that there's a single reason that people ride in the processions. For many years, one day a month, these folks have taken over streets in downtown Manhattan and made it impossible for cars to get through and for people not to notice and enjoy the free-spirited spectacle. They usually don't last very long (a few minutes), but are a lot of fun to watch. I've never seen police interference before. One rider who spoke with some authority on behalf of the the riders (I'll call him the "spokesperson" since I don't know by what process he was appointed) told CBS the maximum they used to get was about 2,000 riders, on Halloween. However, during the RNC protests here in New York, the "spokesperson" alleges, there were "a lot of out of towners" and "the ACLU riled them up" by "having them write the [ACLU] phone number] on their hands" i.e. providing legal representation. According to him, this led to more bravado than ordinary, and the ride was "hijacked" and many people did things that got them arrested. According to the "spokesperson", this is why the Mayor's office is trying to shut down the ride now. When I asked him, in not so many words, why he was laying the blame at the doorstep of the ACLU and not the mayor's office, he said "if you piss people off, that's what happens; it's life." (paraphrase). "If Giuliani was the mayor would it have been worse?" to which I emphatically responded "yes!" before he could answer his rhetorical question in agreement. "Would it have been better under Dinkins? Probably." he said. But none of that latter part really seemed to sink in with him. I'm not an enormous fan of the ACLU, but I understand that getting a bike-friendly city and the right to a fun protest/party has something to do with police crackdowns and permit refusals like the one for the anti-war demonstration in February 2003. Granted, this man was angry that his fun and cause had been ruined beyond his control, but I had never really heard someone so divisive and unconcerned with larger issues as the "spokesperson" before. Nonetheless, I think his idea to have bike riders "go hijack [an ACLU event]" is a good one, for the sake of fun and retribution if nothing else :) To be fair, I shouldn't single him out in his anti-attorney sentiments; I overheard another rider yelling at the National Lawyers Guild monitors that were there "we don't need lawyers watching the ride. It's because of you that this happened. We don't need lawyers." (close paraphrase). The lawyers gave a slightly bitter look, but seemed to brush it off; they didn't have anything particularly interesting to add when I approached them. NLG is very different from ACLU, anyhow, but that didn't seem to matter to that particular rider. The police were a little more united: upon being asked if the NYPD would be coming every month, one cop told me, "well, they seem to assemble every month, so we'll be here." He was much more courteous than the "Community Affairs" officer whom I approached for a comment. She responded with something I can't recall and then fairly rudely asked, "Do you have press credentials?" Upon hearing a "no", she said "well, you're going to have to call the [mayor's office]." Fine by me if they have no clue what's happening with the media and don't want their perspective represented. I could say whatever I wanted about them right here and who knows how many people would end up believing it. 3? 4? :) In any case I got the sense from what some riders said and a little surreptitiousness after the aborted ride that there's a countermove afoot from the Critical Mass riders. We'll see how creative they can get. For tonight, however, the only intrusive cycling procession I witnessed were the motocops on their hogs, who wheeled around in the street with a certain fearlessness that people without permits can't really employ in their daily lives. Oh, and an hour later, after all the cops, legal observers, and CM riders were gone, I did see two kids popping wheelies in the lot. The revolution lives...

Fucking bullshit.

now what?

what if next time a very "considerate" demo was done. wherein people gathered and walked with their bikes beside them single file on the sidewalk, very concientous to not block anything, and following all the signs, etc. -- but all carry candles as a vigil for free bike riding. and arrived at or near bloombergs hacienda, for a vigil. get the mainstream media to record it or at least ny1, get some photos out and into the bike world press, and the liberal-prog commercial press (like the voice), and then not ride for a month.

so that come June there is interest and expectation and a certain moral thing that has been developed, in support, of this ride.
********

i mean is just hitting the same wall going to resolve this?

its foolish to think that bloomberg isn't currently involved. his silence is his tacit, passive, permission (for one reason or another) for the cops/DA to carry on, down their wasteful, repressive road. It is not abating. Something has to shift radically.

(i hate to say it, but tactically this has to be dealt with -> eventually, and perhaps sooner then people think, there will be a kind of fatigue factor. people are not going to want to gather to be arrested... unless there is some hope that a tide can turn in so doing.. and this then becomes cd actions of a very different sense...)

some other option has to be explored now, then just going to ride, and getting arrested en masse... in order to move this paradigm in a totally different direction (i.e. police escorts on the rides, not police arrests at the get-go!!)

this has to be done dialectically (that is, some opposite action to what is going on now, to what is 'given'... which underscores the absurdity/ruin/bad faith of the dominant pattern (arrests) in the current situation).

****

anyhow...

riders: you f*&king rock!

Well now you know to pick up a $25 beater bike at a yard sale or something and use that at critical mass and leave your good bike at home.

Have a CM beater bike and your good bike you use for communting, excisize, work, etc.

Well, I was one of the 37 arrested. It probably wasn't even 10 minutes after people began to leave the park. Luckily I took in an old crappy bike this time, so I don't really mind whether I get it back or not (although I would like it back...). Will this deter me? Hell no. I hope too see you all in May.

There were 38 of us taken to the 7th precinct. that might be all, unless they brought others to another precinct.

wherever mayor candidates appear, ask yell about the crit mass bvike ride
mainstream folks democrats can do that

write to the city council members
all can do that

promote and research how much this illegal activity costs the tazpayers

juxtapose with real crime and violence unabated and unaddressed throguhout the city

flier locally in your local neighborhood
picture of cops stealing bikes and picture of crime and violence whatever bad in local area

switch up the script
the ride is now HEAVILY infiltarted
so up at front know whose who and how its starting
the nmesh and the fuinnel tactic was all a set up
who led thr die out into that? lets review...

Until recently I was living in London and regularly going to Critical Mass where we, though not openly welcomed, were tolerated by the police. There would be a group of police cyclists to escort the group through the city, they knew we didn't want to cause trouble and let us get on with it, we even had a police van escort through some parts of the city.

Why, if the cyclist / police relationship can function well in London can it not function in NYC? I'm not saying London police are perfect, but they can be very reasonable, especially during Critical Mass, sure they throw their weight around and get impaitent, (I got yelled at by a police officer while I was flirting with a lovely lady who was walking past), but for the most part, they're pretty cool.

Why can't the NYC Police manage to tolerate the CM? Surely it'd be less trouble for both parties if they were to escort the Mass through the city instead of opposing it head on when it's blatantly not going to go away. It'd be great press for the council, the police and the Mass itself.

Eat Banana's, the unofficial fruit of the Critical Mass!

There would have been more people on the ride if they had waited until the usual starting time. I arrived about 7:15 and they were already gone. Usually the ride starts at 7:30.

Selective prosecution with banning of some groups of twenty or more throughout the city--sounds like NYC is big on the old southern state slave codes. Throughout arrests cops saying "Just doing my job". They know in their gut who and what they work for.

The only reason I wasn't arrested is because they netted off the block that I work on and I had a key to get in my building. The police officer thought I was lying when I said I worked on the building.

After letting another person into the building entrance, four police officers came inside the building and arrested him because I didn't know his name.

nick, pls contact gideon about the person arrested, you may have been a witness to improper procedure, seems m-25 repetition of rnc police state tactics, sealing off areas and arresting randomly, pls contact council member margarita lopez off. (212)788-7366 fax (212) 442-2738, her assistant is eric lugo (212) 614-8751, lets take them to task about civil rights, they think police arrest cm because of traffic violations

there were many people at gathering place at 7pm, police had set up additonal grates around the park thus turning it into one gigantic holding pen, with only a few exists available, the police quietly began sealing off exists and many cut out, is was all part of well developed plan by police to steer riders, and it worked, and they basically arrested people in same place twice in a row, but with increased perfection, however it was not at all successful, many riders had began to engage in alternative collective behavior, do not post such, and rides
lasted for two hours, next ride things will be much smoother, rigidity on part of cm is being overcome, cm had become a ritual which it should not be

Transportation Alternatives, the so called bike advocates, just released a report card for the city's bike promoting efforts. Amazingly, thery make NO MENTION of the administration's treatment of the largets most regular biking experince in the city, Critical Mass (see gothamgazette.com). This is fear, cowardice or malevolence. In any case, stop ging TA and $ and stick with the real folks at Times Up!

seems like for the Union Square monthtly thing one strategy would be to *not* congregate together in one spot to create a cell that can easily be "netted," but to spread out just a bit and have several hundred folks riding casually within several blocks of Union Square. There would be impact on traffic patterns, high visibility (maybe even higher than riding in a concentrated cell) and it would next to impossible for the police to intervene and arrest anyone ... and for what could they arrest you? You can legally ride on the road and occupy a lane. A few hundred folks legally riding in a four or five block radius would create quite a scene, and would be "impossible to net." I guess if someone really wants to be arrested or hit by a car they could still manage it on their own.
-Sun Tzu (or you can call me Waldo).

"A few hundred folks legally riding in a four or five block radius would create quite a scene, and would be "impossible to net."

This is a pretty good idea but the main problem I see is getting the ride to somehow unite.

The city of NY should be happy that more people are riding and
exercising their right to, rather than having more cars on the road. Let them ride free, and exercise the right to assemble.

Peace to all my rider people.

When the FOIA forms come back and we learn exactly how many officers have been deployed and how much money has been spent on this, I think that is really when the general public and newspapers will give a hoot.

The schools and the MTA and probably a whole lot of other needy agencies are forced to penny pinch and yet this LEGAL ride is persecuted and hounded with a whole lot of money and manpower. The M25 ride easily had a 2:1 cop to biker ratio.

So Bloomie, get ready. I'm sure it's just a matter of a few more weeks before the public learns of your expensive pet project!

Welcome to America!
If you don't want to drive a car - YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!

Bullshit!

And the US is the biggest democracy in the world? This is just insane!

A free country - you are free to do as we tell you!

Police comrades, you have done a great job, now, if you are finished harrasing innocent people you can go further and arrest their mothers also! Fuck you, fuck all of you!