Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - nyc critical mass tonight?

anyone going... ? rain? cops? etc...

how big do nyc mass's get?

they used to get *big*, 2+ thousand. now they get arrested and their bikes get impounded, so only a few people show up.

Fascists...

Tonight will be big, and you should show even if you're not going to ride:
Still We Speak! (http://www.stillwespeak.org)

I'm going, but just to snap a few shots of the cops on their new scooters.

i will be there with spurs on

i'm gonna try and make it.

rally at 5, ride at 7, correct?

Rally at 5:30, I believe... Ride at 7.

man. i rode by union square on my way home from work.

easily 300 cops standing in a big group, police busses, flatbed trucks, metal barriers set up, etc.

***** is going down tonight and i'm staying away.

i care deeply about this cause, but i just can't risk losing either my commuter bike or my very, very expensive road bike.

i guess the strongarm tactics are working :(

man. i rode by union square on my way home from work.

easily 300 cops standing in a big group, police busses, flatbed trucks, metal barriers set up, etc.

***** is going down tonight and i'm staying away.

i care deeply about this cause, but i just can't risk losing either my commuter bike or my very, very expensive road bike.

i guess the strongarm tactics are working :(


that does not sound good, glad i decided against it... :(

There's a permit for the rally, though not for the ride... If you're worried, take the train in and rally only!

Have seen isolated packs of people on their bikes, having fun, slowing traffic - but nothing like in the past...

je-sus. i remember when this was fun. i got corked by a cop letting ~10 cars through my greenlight on atlantic and hoyt in bk tonight. looks like they're staging their own masses; hordes, whatever. saw them again on the climb on the hill in the park (prospect@930). sirens and lights.

i think the bk and mhn CMs should conspire to occur on the same night. that'be an f-d up logi problem for all concerned. in the rhetorical sense is all i'm saying.

man the pigs come down harsh over the pond!

I don't get it, what is this all about?

I didnt go last night. I saw Little groups of people out on the street with their bikes all locked together trying to find out where other people were.. I overheard that people were even getting arrested if they were riding in little groups of 5!

I don't get it.. So if a few of my friends and I want to ride around in the city at any given time, we are now criminals? If its 5, 50 or 500 you can get arrested.. not cool..only in this city! :( Thumbs down

I say we all try to ride on sunday.. Lets all meet up at a different location in a mass.. im sure if we try to ride with a mass amount of people every week or so, the city wont be able to keep bringing out all the police, paddywagons, flatbeds. That has to add up for one night. Maybe if we just ride in masses non-stop, the city will have to back down with the cost..

anyone up for a ride.. Say Sunday 7pm? and where.... Message me

I say we all try to ride on sunday.. Lets all meet up at a different location in a mass.. im sure if we try to ride with a mass amount of people every week or so, the city wont be able to keep bringing out all the police, paddywagons, flatbeds. That has to add up for one night. Maybe if we just ride in masses non-stop, the city will have to back down with the cost..

anyone up for a ride.. Say Sunday 7pm? and where.... Message me


you'll be able to ride wherever/whenever you want on sunday, there will be masses of people riding around after bikeNY.

Looks like its time to have a rotating critical mass schedule. One month on thursday, then next month on Tuesday or some shi+. Not like it would be any less effective at blocking traffic. The pigs wont be able to keep up and once the bike community gets back in the groove you could probably get 500+ riding again. Keep the rally on fridays based on principle. Bad idea?

Looks like its time to have a rotating critical mass schedule. One month on thursday, then next month on Tuesday or some shi+. Not like it would be any less effective at blocking traffic. The pigs wont be able to keep up and once the bike community gets back in the groove you could probably get 500+ riding again. Keep the rally on fridays based on principle. Bad idea?

We're getting really close to mass arrests at the park with or without riding, in my opinion... One of the primary strategies in the City's current lawsuit is their claim that any group of 20 people in any park or public plaza requires a permit - so that rally on Fridays is still going to be a point of contention.

There are reports of single riders being arrested last night - in one case, a rider alone was reportly chased by two police cars, one of which struck him / pushed him into a curb so that he could be arrested. May or may not be CM related - could well be an isolated incident in which a suspect in some actual crime tried to flee on bike. Anyone have more information - numbers, etc - on last night's events?

Oh: And happy Bike Month, NYC!

NYT:

At Least 18 Arrests Made in Tense Night of a Monthly Cycling Protest
By KAREEM FAHIM and JIM DWYER

Published: April 30, 2005



nder tense circumstances, the monthly Critical Mass bicycle ride set out last night from multiple locations in Manhattan, in an attempt by the riders to thwart a police crackdown.

The police did not supply arrest numbers last night, but a lawyer who works with the riders, Julia Cohen, said at least 18 were detained.

Up to 400 people, many of them without bicycles, had gathered in Union Square Park before riders fanned out to locations around downtown Manhattan, including Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, and Madison Square Park in the Flatiron District.

In one of the first arrests of the evening, a young woman who was straddling her bike and walking it out of the south end of Union Square Park was seized and personally arrested by Assistant Police Chief Bruce H. Smolka Jr.

"You're riding your bicycle on the sidewalk," Chief Smolka said. "You're under arrest."

The woman protested that she had done nothing wrong. The chief insisted that she get off her bicycle immediately, and then he tried to pull her off. The woman argued, and then other police officers, some of them wearing plainclothes, joined the chief and forcibly removed the woman from the bike.

Ride participants tried to retrieve the woman's bike and scuffled with police officers, who then arrested a second woman.

The sight of a senior chief in the Police Department struggling in a crowded public place with the woman roused the gathering of people.

Cries of "Let her go, let her go," and "fascist state" filled the air, as Chief Smolka and other officers led the woman into a van. A line of 10 motorcycles then sealed the edge of the sidewalk at the intersection of 14th Street and Union Square East. The arrested woman began to give her name in response to a question from a reporter, but only uttered one word - "Lisa" - before she was pushed into the van and the reporter was forced away from her.

Chief Smolka is the police official in charge of southern Manhattan, and oversaw many of the mass arrests made in August before and during the Republican National Convention, including more than 100 arrests of bicyclists at a Critical Mass ride that swelled to include 5,000 riders.

Since then, the mass rides, which were conducted peacefully for several years before that, have become a point of contention with the Police Department.

Police officials have sought to require permits for the rides, which are intended to promote pollution-free transportation. They have filed for injunctions, first in federal court and more recently in state court. And they have warned that riders who run red lights, block intersections or otherwise break the law will be arrested.

In recent months, a cat-and-mouse game has developed, in which the riders try to outrun the police by starting from multiple locations, using cellphone text messages to spread the word. These efforts have been met by increasing shows of force with police officers deployed on foot and motorcycle, and in vans and helicopters. Last night, all of them were darting through the narrow confines of Lower Manhattan.

Soon after the ride began, a freelance reporter for The New York Times, Colin Moynihan, was standing on a sidewalk at Sixth Street and Avenue A interviewing people when he was briefly detained and handcuffed. He was later released by the police without charges.

this paragraph is a little inaccurate:

In recent months, a cat-and-mouse game has developed, in which the riders try to outrun the police by starting from multiple locations, using cellphone text messages to spread the word. These efforts have been met by increasing shows of force with police officers deployed on foot and motorcycle, and in vans and helicopters. Last night, all of them were darting through the narrow confines of Lower Manhattan.

man! i rode last night for a bit. i saw too many people get arrested, and one cyclist get hit by a car (when the cops showed, they told the motorist to leave! i couldnt believe it, i went and got the liscence plate #) anyways i decided to bail and i headed back to union sq to meet up with a friend and i was just standing their with my bike and i was approached by 2 cops who then proceeded to give me a summons for "reckless operation of bicycle". wtf? sucks. now i have to figure out what to do. argh.

now i'm kinda glad i got lazy and stayed home. This is why everyone needs to vote and get sorry a$$ mike out of office. don't know how much that'd help but it's something we can control if we all chipped in and do our part.

Who made the executive decision to end critical mass in NY? Does anyone know of a official statement made by the city? I just dont understand how an extremely effective non-violent protest turns into "reckless operation of [a] bicycle." Are they actually trying to discourage people from riding all together. What happens when national/city bike day falls on the last friday of the month (if that's possible)?

now i'm kinda glad i got lazy and stayed home. This is why everyone needs to vote and get sorry a$$ mike out of office. don't know how much that'd help but it's something we can control if we all chipped in and do our part.

Indeed - and we don't just need to get rid of Mike, we need to be actively letting other cantidates know that this issue matters by showing up at their campaign events and asking questions in public. I've already seen a little bit of this kind of thing in the press... but far from enough! It also wouldn't hurt to write / fax your senator and ask them to get behind the proposed Senate investigation into police tactics at the time of the RNC... With a little luck and a lot of pressure, there's a chance we can even get Smolka dismissed and/or indicted for his role in that whole fiasco!

man! i rode last night for a bit. i saw too many people get arrested, and one cyclist get hit by a car (when the cops showed, they told the motorist to leave! i couldnt believe it, i went and got the liscence plate #) anyways i decided to bail and i headed back to union sq to meet up with a friend and i was just standing their with my bike and i was approached by 2 cops who then proceeded to give me a summons for "reckless operation of bicycle". wtf? sucks. now i have to figure out what to do. argh.

You should get in contact with the national lawyers guild. I am sure they will have some good advice at they very least.

thanks lockdown, will do.

Who ever would have thought when you ride a bike you now become a criminal..

Who made the executive decision to end critical mass in NY? Does anyone know of a official statement made by the city? I just dont understand how an extremely effective non-violent protest turns into "reckless operation of [a] bicycle." Are they actually trying to discourage people from riding all together. What happens when national/city bike day falls on the last friday of the month (if that's possible)?

It was an executive decision when it became political. CM was never seen as a political threat before the RNC convention. When you have people using CM as a vehicle for political objectives, then you got to think of the consequences. I'm not blaming or pointing fingers but riding a bike has or never will have anything to do with politics. I will sorely miss the peaceful CMs of yore.

true that. it isnt fun anymore, when you constantly have to be on the look out for police and people are all watching out for themselves, instead of for the group as a whole. it makes the ride much more dangerous for cyclists. i was reading a little bit of history on cm, and it seems that cm in san fran came to a head with violence and police action in 1997. perhaps it is the ebb and flow of cm?

**** hit the fan in portland Oregon with CM during the start of the war. People getting arrested and ticketed and beat up etc. Eventually the response was to form "alternative" CM's where we would organize a hush hush location via word of mouth. The cops never caught on and sometimes we would even see the normal CM ahead being "escorted" by cops.
Sooner or later NYC CM was gonna go down...just be glad it was later then some. New tactics need to be devised. If you dont want to ride with the main group get some friends together and ride around town at the same time. Many scattered groups can have the same message.

"I'm not blaming or pointing fingers but riding a bike has or never will have anything to do with politics."

You are sorely mistaken about Critical Mass not ever having been political before the RNC. For one, every CM rider defines the meaning of the event individually. In an case, there is a political aspect to everything we do. Politics means making choices and we make choices every day. I don't just choose to ride my bike, I choose to ride my bike instead fo driving a car. It's a choice with meaning to the world hence a political one.

By the way, check out the Freewheels website for more NYC Critical Mass info.
http://www.bicycledefensefund.org

"I'm not blaming or pointing fingers but riding a bike has or never will have anything to do with politics."

You are sorely mistaken about Critical Mass not ever having been political before the RNC. For one, every CM rider defines the meaning of the event individually.



I think you're missing a little bit of the point. Even if we agree that, as you say, everything one does is a 'political' decision (NOT all people will agree with that), I think many people who support the idea of promoting visibility and popularity of non-motorized transportation DON'T necessarily participate in CM in order to get into direct/aggressive/violent conflict with any authorities. Witness the previous posters who decided to sit this last one out. I personally have never gone, because the friends I have in SF who participate, deliberately go to practice 'revolution.' Most people I've met who participate in the events on a normal basis would be self-described 'revolutionaries,' as opposed to 'liberals.' The difference is that the former category is ideally looking to piss off and/or disrupt the status quo of civil society. I believe these people have their place, but I have always thought it was disingenuous to say that you're only 'abiding by the law,' and at the same time approaching the event with the implicit intent of disrupting the normal rhythms of urban society. And PS, we can't ignore the fact that the event also has a certain gravity for general mischief-making delinquents: I was outside of a bike shop on 14th st. on Friday, and a bunch of BMX twits rode by on the sidewalk, among all of the pedestrian traffic. I shouted at them to get off the sidewalk and one turned around and flipped me off. They were headed for Union Square. As a cyclist, those kinds of people infuriate and frustrate me, and I definitely do NOT share any 'political' attitudes with them.

I know that the police tactics have been unjust and unfair, but it's not like Bloomberg hates cyclists: he's been promoting and improving cycling in the city since he got into office. He's simply responding to the issue in the same, businessman's way that he responds to ALL problems: maintain order via the most efficient way possible. In this case, stifle the upstarts and deal with the legal consequences later. And by the way, as far as a political issue goes, I think that this is a tiny flea for him. Most people, other than the CM'ers, just don't care what Bloomberg does about it, as long as he keeps order in the city.

Cost-benefit analysis from my POV: CM is hurting the image of cyclists in the city about as much as delivery guys. And if you want sympathy from the general public, and to encourage a broader participation, you'll be sure to make it clear that you're a movement of fellow citizens, and act as if you are (both before AND after events), not a horde led by 'revolutionaries.'

The catch is, people I know who are 'revolutionaries,' ultimately just don't give a rat's-a$$ about anybody who doesn't align with their politics. So in essence, they're not really trying all that hard to persuade anyone out there. They don't think that they have their place, they think everyone else has no place. Kind of reminds me of some people way back called themselves 'Bolsheviks.'


iViva la Revolución! iViva Ché!

CM has always been about hanging out with friends and checking out everyones bikes "for me". No more, no less. I still ride the last Friday of every month. as well as everyday. I just don't need to call it anything.

You are sorely mistaken about Critical Mass not ever having been political before the RNC. For one, every CM rider defines the meaning of the event individually. In an case, there is a political aspect to everything we do. Politics means making choices and we make choices every day. I don't just choose to ride my bike, I choose to ride my bike instead fo driving a car. It's a choice with meaning to the world hence a political one.

http://www.bicycledefensefund.org

Do you also have unprotected, premarital sex because you're taking a stance against Catholicism?

Do you also have unprotected, premarital sex because you're taking a stance against Catholicism?


I masturbate for hands' rights!

I masturbate for hands' rights!

Viva les HANDS!

One of my friends was arrested at the NYC CM.

here's her account of what went down:

"Hey, I, along with two other bostonians were arrested in NYC for participating in the critical mass. We know that many more than 18 people were cuffed, arrested, and held in prision. i was number 29, and have an arraignment in NY with others on June 7th. The charges will most likely be parading without a permit and at least one count of disorderly conduct. We were given violation, but this will undoubtedly be a big hassle. All of the bikes of those who were arrested were kept as "arrest evidence" and might not be given back untill all charges are dropped (at earliest in June).T here are NY orgs that are helping us to get our bikes back sooner, but this might not work. We spent about 3.5 hours in jail, and no bail was involved. I know that at least 3 paddywagons full of captives were taken, 11 were in mine. Some minor wrist injuries were caused by cuffs, and some property was stolen (form me personally 10 pins and my helmet). It was clear that the police were arresting at randokm untill all wagons were full. myself and the two others i was with were arrested even though we were sitting on a stoop on the sidewalk with our helmets off and our bikes next to us. While it could have been at lot worse, it still sucks and we appreciate the support form our home city.

love,
[name removed]"

Most people I've met who participate in the events on a normal basis would be self-described 'revolutionaries,' as opposed to 'liberals.' The difference is that the former category is ideally looking to piss off and/or disrupt the status quo of civil society.

First, who do you know that is lame enough to refer to themselves as "revolutionaries" (names should be named)? Are they talking about their wheels? Second, the "status quo of civil society" is definitely not 1. liberal 2. made up of people who ride their bikes, so it is, by default, about disrupting the status quo. If everyone rode bikes instead of driving, then critical mass would just be called 'traffic.' FixedFiend: I'm all about checking out other kids bikes, but CM is most definitely not about checking out other kids bikes.

Viva les HANDS!
Some of my best friends are hands!
:D

One of my friends was arrested at the NYC CM.
"

I'm sorry to hear that Boston, I really hope she gets her bike back soon. It's soo ugly right now in NYC.

I was arrested in March and it did suck very much.

Don't worry about your bike, it took 4 days to get my bike back with the help of Gideon Oliver,. Esq. and my fellow volunteers at Times-up.

Just make sure that you take a good look at your bike before you leave the wharehouse in greenpoint, they are not "gental" with them.