View Full Version : NYC Critical Mass Photos (Arrests)
williamw
02-25-05, 09:10 PM
About 5 bicyclists were arrested after riding barely a block tonight. More arrests were made later. I don't have much else to say. I'll rant somewhere else. Chat amongst yourselves. Photos here:
http://www.untitledname.com/archives/2005/02/critical_mass_f_1.html
http://www.untitledname.com/archives/2005/02/critical_mass_f.html
Will
Dchiefransom
02-25-05, 11:04 PM
I can sleep better tonight now that the police have arrested those "thuggish" looking criminals.
I have never seen more "Mom and Pop", "Mr and Mrs Cleaver" looking types in my life.
Same thing happened in Portland last night. The Mayor ignored the ride this month (he rode about halfway with us last month), the motorcycle pigs were out in force again, about one for every ten cyclists, $247 tickets for totally bogus violations flowed freely from their pens and pads... :(
I think one of the guys getting arrested in your photos posts on this board...
so in NYC there was a critical mass ride and ppl got arrested for it? doesnt seem right....
this may sound stupid but what exactley is a Critical Mass? Is it protesting? Why are they gettting arrested? there just people with bikes, i think the cops are trying to act tuff again :)
From the website:
"NYC Critical Mass. 17th Street and 5th Avenue. Manhattan, New York.
NYPD arresting people for riding bicycles. No crime was involved."
There was a crime involved. Those pigs were touching those nice bikes AND arresting people for no good reason. Pigs.
Those pigs
The 60's are over, Link want's his fro-pick back.
elcabron
02-26-05, 05:02 PM
I love it.
I think it's Linq, with a Q. Could be Lincque?
Takes me back.
To quote Los Lobos:
"Too tired, too tired
Baby
To hold my fist so high.
Is it still time
for Revolution?"
El Cabron
I love it.
I think it's Linq, with a Q. Could be Lincque?
It's Linc (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062589/)
Solid
nycm'er
02-26-05, 08:36 PM
Look Ma its me! This is what happens in NYC on the last Friday of the month, around 8pm, if you ride though a GREEN light with an undetermined number of other bikes. I can't really get into details, but me and another rider pictured agreed to "Courteous Mass", went one block down 17 from Union Sq. waited at the red at 5th Ave, the rest of the ride went through, we got nabbed as the cops caught those who obeyed the signal. (Note: the one time I have obeyed a signal in days, I get arrested) The charge is parading with out a permit. The cop loudspeakers were saying that it is illegal to be in a procession with bikes in New York City. We asked cops before the ride what defines a procession. NONE could tell us. Not a guess at a number, nothing. I was obeying the law as were the other 6 who went for the ride to the station. I believe the 26 street and broadway bust yielded 6 to 8 more. (as well as one flying tackle on a smallish woman.) The 26th street peeps came to the 9th precinct with us. There may have been more who were taken to other precincts. The Cops were very professional and rather nice. My arresting officer (pictured) was very gentle. :rolleyes: We were out in @3 hours; our bikes are still in the Stir though.
I have heard that posting pics is not that easy, so some nice witness did it for me, thats my Surly, my taped up beater.
Good eye Yosh.
The 26th street peeps came to the 9th precinct with us.
I think you meant "perps", you scofflaw.
wfisher
02-26-05, 09:36 PM
What were you charged with exactly? What's the fine/punishment for the charge and does this mean you have to hire a lawyer?
what if you wren't actually in the CM?
That actually came up IIRC, someone had taken their bike to a deli to buy some food, and ended up joining the mass on the way back. Got arrested, showed the receipt from the deli and had the charges dropped.
nycm'er
02-27-05, 08:25 AM
What were you charged with exactly? What's the fine/punishment for the charge and does this mean you have to hire a lawyer?
Parading with out a permit and Disorderly Conduct.
Don't know about the lawyer. The National Lawyers Guild has been all over the rides and past arrests. Several lawyers are taking this issue on a pro bono basis. I am unclear on their relationship to the NLG. Not sure if the pro bono bit pertains to me. I am not too worried though, we'll see.
blueminer
02-27-05, 01:24 PM
Look, Ma, it's me, too!
I'm one of those surly lookin' fellas that got pinched last Friday and I must say that NYC is far safer with me incarcerated. So much for following rules with the expectation of being recognized for such. the Courteous Mass thing didn't work so well. Parading with out a permit is a charge I can handle (although I really don't think such a law exists), but the disorderly conduct is just a strait up lie. I swear I was probably the most cordial person in all of Manhattan before, during and after my arrest!
I must also say that my arresting officer was quite a gentleman and wasn't too into the fact that he had to take us in. The officers are given directives from their superiors and must follow them. It's their job. I do, however, have a beef with the commissioner (whose name escapes me). That %$#& has had a hair up his since the RNC and has been wasting valuable resources to harrass some of the most upstanding people in the city.
Anyway, I'll round up another bike and be there next month. See y'all there!
williamw
02-27-05, 02:11 PM
At 17th and 5th I took my helmet and bike and gave them to a friend to hold up the block so I could take those photos. If you'd like a free high res photo of yourself getting arrested, drop me an email (william (*@*) untitledname (*dot*) com. I imagine it would make a great holiday card, or heirloom photo for the fireplace mantle...
Anyways, good luck with court. I assume you're already talking with gideon, right?
nycm'er
02-28-05, 06:53 AM
Thanks for taking the photo Will. I didn't even see you. And thanks for your offer as well, I am sure we will talk.
To answer a previous question, supposedly we face a $100 fine as well, a violation, not a misdem or anything. Also the guy in the green hat is a legal observer, (that is what the green hat says and denotes) and he got pinched too. A new trend since the RNC. He was waiting at the light and did not break any laws either. That is what we are looking at here. Intimidation. I think we find out today when we get our bikes back. If cops impounded cars for the same supposed violations as this, there would be very few cars here.
lrzipris
02-28-05, 10:07 AM
Parading with out a permit and Disorderly Conduct.
Don't know about the lawyer. The National Lawyers Guild has been all over the rides and past arrests. Several lawyers are taking this issue on a pro bono basis. I am unclear on their relationship to the NLG. Not sure if the pro bono bit pertains to me. I am not too worried though, we'll see.
Why, how did one of the NLG legal observers (the fellow in the distinctive "hi-vis green" cap) get arrested? LOs are supposed to stay removed from the action, otherwise the purpose of having LOs present is defeated.
chicharron
02-28-05, 11:01 AM
So, excuse me, as I am just a naive Mid-Western rube reading this. My question: what is the point of this particualr acitivity? Were you trying to get arrested to make a particular point? If so, what was the point? The message? I think I missed somthing.
nycm'er
02-28-05, 11:27 AM
The 6 of us incld. the LO were obeying traffic signals. We obeyed all of them... we only were faced with one before we were jumped. Apparently NYPD doesn't recognize or care about LOs anymore. He or someone else may have more info on this but since the RNC, the LOs are free targets too. All of us were polite and calm and in no way disorderly. Our arresting officers were joking with us and relaxed because they saw we were not riotous or violent. We had to of been the easiest collars of their careers. I was standing middle of the intersection watching my bud get jostled when my arresting officer came up to me.
Chich- I will let you and anyone else who is unclear what Critical Mass is, google it. There are many threads debating the validity of the approach to Crit Mass, so you can search these forums as well. Lastly the site that does not organize but sends out reminders about rides (in NYC) is times-up.org.
I, and I do believe everyone who was arrested in my group of 6 were absolutely not trying to be arrested. Speaking for myself, I have a Federally issued license I wish to protect and keep in good standing. My in-laws to be, were coming to town and I had not yet seen them. Lastly I don't believe in wasting money or time, esp. cops, there is a lot of crime in this city, but this is where the NYPD thinks the taxpayers money is well spent.
Roughstuff
02-28-05, 11:33 AM
So, excuse me, as I am just a naive Mid-Western rube reading this. My question: what is the point of this particualr acitivity? Were you trying to get arrested to make a particular point? If so, what was the point? The message? I think I missed somthing.
hehe....you and a few million other cyclists who have spent, collectively, millions of man years and millions of passenger-miles on this nation's roadways and have co-existed with traffic the whole time. As usual, the whole country gets dragged into a tizzy because a few city blocks don't have enough room for all the people who feel everyone else should be someplace else.
Looking at the photos, i notice that Critical Mass has adopted a new mantra. The old one was 'we aren't blocking traffic...we are traffic.' The new one seems to be ...drum roll please...
cycling is not a crime.
I must admit, I am always leery of a group that changes its motto with the changing seasons (the democrat party comes to mind). But when they go from one ridiculous logo to another, I get extra suspicious.
roughstuff
nycm'er
02-28-05, 12:01 PM
roughstuff always makes such concise points.... I was not blocking traffic and my arresting officer and a Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs officer could not explain before or after what makes up a procession or a parade. Thus I was not committing a crime when I was arrested. Nor has a number been defined by the courts. If you ride a bike this effects you, without a doubt.
Let's not bring in politics, we shouldn't muddy the waters of this thread, eh roughstuff?
Roughstuff
02-28-05, 02:55 PM
roughstuff always makes such concise points.... I was not blocking traffic and my arresting officer and a Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs officer could not explain before or after what makes up a procession or a parade. Thus I was not committing a crime when I was arrested. Nor has a number been defined by the courts. If you ride a bike this effects you, without a doubt.
Let's not bring in politics, we shouldn't muddy the waters of this thread, eh roughstuff?
Oh by all means. Please do not muddy the thread by saying I accused you of blocking traffic, committing a crime, whatever, when I did not do so. My point was about CM's initial motto and its latest one. An earlier post asked what CM ride ares all about, and I addressed that question by saying, in so many words, that they are about absolutely nothing.
roughstuff
chicharron
02-28-05, 03:54 PM
hehe....you and a few million other cyclists who have spent, collectively, millions of man years and millions of passenger-miles on this nation's roadways and have co-existed with traffic the whole time. As usual, the whole country gets dragged into a tizzy because a few city blocks don't have enough room for all the people who feel everyone else should be someplace else.
Looking at the photos, i notice that Critical Mass has adopted a new mantra. The old one was 'we aren't blocking traffic...we are traffic.' The new one seems to be ...drum roll please...
cycling is not a crime.
I must admit, I am always leery of a group that changes its motto with the changing seasons (the democrat party comes to mind). But when they go from one ridiculous logo to another, I get extra suspicious.
roughstuff
I hadn't intended to take a particular side in any debate,but instead truly wanted to know what this "Critical Mass" stuff was all about, and why those people in the photo's were being arrested.
I hadn't intended to take a particular side in any debate,but instead truly wanted to know what this "Critical Mass" stuff was all about, and why those people in the photo's were being arrested.
Ignore roughstuff and try these links instead:
http://www.critical-mass.org/
http://criticalmassrides.info/
williamw
02-28-05, 04:45 PM
Roughstuff -- Don't make silly generalizations about critical mass based upon my website. It's a completely biased source. It never claimed to speak for CM. It doesn't represent it. CM doesn't have any one purpose. You said yourself that CM is not about anything, so don't even bring up mantras.
I'll hold my tongue. I might start internet-shouting in all caps. Arguing about critical mass is super boring.
qmsdc15
02-28-05, 04:50 PM
Man. that is so wrong! I feel really bad, I have advocated for such a "courteous mass" on this forum and said I would do that but I never did it. I just was out of town for the last two CM rides in DC that I heard about or was working (inauguration). Because you didn't break the law, you are at the back. They cut you off from the herd like stray cattle and brand you with criminal charges. You have a great case. DC had to pay big bucks to protesters illegally arrested. You were among other bikes, so what? There were a lot of cars around too, right? Were they cited as part of the parade? What's up with operating your vehicle in heavy traffic? When should that be allowed? America's freedom is a joke. Not a funny one.
qmsdc15
02-28-05, 04:57 PM
hehe....you and a few million other cyclists who have spent, collectively, millions of man years and millions of passenger-miles on this nation's roadways and have co-existed with traffic the whole time. As usual, the whole country gets dragged into a tizzy because a few city blocks don't have enough room for all the people who feel everyone else should be someplace else.
Looking at the photos, i notice that Critical Mass has adopted a new mantra. The old one was 'we aren't blocking traffic...we are traffic.' The new one seems to be ...drum roll please...
cycling is not a crime.
I must admit, I am always leery of a group that changes its motto with the changing seasons (the democrat party comes to mind). But when they go from one ridiculous logo to another, I get extra suspicious.
roughstuff
Oh yeah, they are up to something! Very suspicious indeed!
JohnBrooking
02-28-05, 09:26 PM
Two questions:
nycm'er, I'm not trying to be critical (so to speak), but I have to question that first you said you were standing in the middle of the intersection, but then later you said you were not blocking traffic. How would standing in the middle of the intersection not block traffic? (I know that's not what they charged you with, but it just seems inconistent.)
As a general approach, you and the group might consider looking up the ordinance on what constitutes a parade, just so you know what legal grounds you are really on here. The cops obviously had their instructions, but a judge might maybe be more sympathetic if you showed you know the code and didn't feel you were contravening it. Maybe.
if you showed you know the code and didn't feel you were contravening it.
If you've ever rolled through a stop sign, you have no business being critical. Come on, yes or no: dead-stop track stand or foot-down stop at every stop sign you've ever come to. That's the standard the cops hold you to on Critical Mass. The parading without a permit thing is even more over-the-top. :eek:
Confidential to all you NYC massers: Portland has tried 'courteous mass' for the last 2.5 years and the cops are still MFs. Don't waste your time...
ultra-g
02-28-05, 09:40 PM
I think I remember in the NYS DMV manual it says something like if you impede the flow of traffic, it is a violation.
So basically, the NYPD can charge the CM folks for impeding the flow of traffic, plus give em another ticket for "Blocking the Box" which I know happens when you got a mass of bikers trying to stay in a tight pack and make the light.
They can also charge most of the CM people for not having reflectors or mirrors or even some for not having front and rear lights on their bikes after dark... all of which are against the law in NYS.
They just happen to pick Parading without a license because it's the easiest to charge a large group with.
If you make yourself a target for arrest, you're going to be arrested. (meaning... the Cops view the CM folks as activists practicing civil disobedience, who are looking to be arrested so they can brag about it 20 years from now to their kids... so the cops oblige them).
JohnBrooking
02-28-05, 09:59 PM
I was just suggesting that the more you know about what they are charging you with, the better you can argue it in both a court of law and the court of public opinion. But maybe that's naive.
randya, I specifically said I was not trying to be critical of nycm'er. Meaning I wasn't saying it to put him down, but to point out an inconsistency in what he said. I wasn't trying to imply anything by it.
'The Man' is afraid of the power of Critical Mass so he makes it his business to suppress it...
On a lighter note...
There was a very small Critical Mass in Williamsburg. The only police officer who spoke to us could barely keep from cracking up about the number of phone calls about annoying cyclists.
"Oh no cyclists in the street THE SKY IS FALLING!!!"
Miracle Whip
03-01-05, 05:22 AM
'The Man' is afraid of the power of Critical Mass so he makes it his business to suppress it...
Didn't we share a spliff at the 68 convention in Chicago?
:rolleyes:
NYPD arresting people for riding bicycles. Bicycling is not a crime.
...depends on how they were bicycling.
(backing slowly away from thread)
nycm'er
03-01-05, 07:24 AM
JohnB, No sweat, I said I couldn't (and didn't) go into details (my inlaws are here). But I will try to quickly explain. My bud and I were 2/3rds back in the pack. the light at 17th and 5th was red. (we were on 17th) we waited, pulled to the side to let the last 1/3rd eek by. The light turns, a Cop Explorer or Expedition begins whoop whooping turning north on 5th (strange, wrong way) We proceed into the block and my friend who was in front gets run into by 2 to 3 scooter cops. And I really mean run into. So as about 20 scooter cops descend on the intersection and block the 6 or so of us, I stopped, and waited, because, I knew my ride was over one block in. The cops really busted the ones who obeyed the light. Does that make sense? I put my foot down once the cavalry rode in. I was not going to run, I had done nothing wrong. My cop then came up to me and collared me. From the light turning to me stopping was maybe 8 seconds. There were so many cops there was no traffic near us anyway.
2nd point: the processing/parading point is under debate in the courts now, I really did ask the community outreach cops what the number was, others did too, no cops know. The cops who arrested us were told to arrest bikers, not arrest 2 or 3 or 12 riding together. I am not sure where the parading thing is going to go.
Lastly what ultra and roughstuff are saying I take issue with, esp. with this political climate. I was really not looking to get arrested. It wastes my time and cop's time, I didn't want to have anything to do with it. Now that I have parading without a permit, (which to me sounds like me walking and banging symbols in the street,) I'll be proud. But what is a target for arrest? And isn't that changing everyday? Changing with political whim? What Rough said is what the Fed Judge said in the first case of this issue. The Judge pointed out: This has been happening on schedule for 8 years in NYC, why now does the NYPD have a problem with it?
I am a freelancer and I have certain "societal" privileges and I believe what is happening is wrong, so I didn't and won't run and hide from the government and police force that is supposed to protect me. I was arrested under a law that the Arresting officers were not even clear on. I know people disagree with CM or (fill in cause here), but what if this gov't was coming after what you believed in?
Roughstuff
03-01-05, 07:46 AM
If you've ever rolled through a stop sign, you have no business being critical. Come on, yes or no: dead-stop track stand or foot-down stop at every stop sign you've ever come to. That's the standard the cops hold you to on Critical Mass.
Yup. Its called a work-to-rule action. Its an old union tactic, and back in the days when it was used against those terrible corporate fat cats, it brought production to a standstill. Interesting to see the target reversed.
roughstuff
erraticrider
03-01-05, 07:49 AM
hehe....
Looking at the photos, i notice that Critical Mass has adopted a new mantra. The old one was 'we aren't blocking traffic...we are traffic.' The new one seems to be ...drum roll please...
cycling is not a crime.
I must admit, I am always leery of a group that changes its motto with the changing seasons (the democrat party comes to mind). But when they go from one ridiculous logo to another, I get extra suspicious.
roughstuff
hehe... what a good idea roughie has here. You NYC Critical Mass riders should advertise your next CM ride as a "CM Group Ride" and then watch to see how the cops have to squirm to explain why arresting you is not selective prosecution and why they do not take similar enforcement action against the other "group rides" organized regularly in NYC.
Roughstuff
03-01-05, 07:51 AM
hehe... what a good idea roughie has here. You NYC Critical Mass riders should advertise your next CM ride as a "CM Group Ride" and then watch to see how the cops have to squirm to explain why arresting you is not selective prosecution and why they do not take similar enforcement action against the other "group rides" organized regularly in NYC.
Yikes erratic..i dunno about that! They would probably argue it was now a 'conspiracy' and prosecute you under RICO or something like that....
roughstuff
williamw
03-01-05, 08:08 AM
Roughstuff -- you're bringing up irreverent points attacking critical mass without making a specific argument. I'd like to hear a complete thought sometime.
Erraticrider -- it doesn't matter how it's phrased. Any group ride starting in union square on the last friday of the month is going to be followed by the police. If the start location was changed periodically, there would probably be less interference.
Roughstuff
03-01-05, 08:13 AM
Roughstuff -- you're bringing up irreverent points attacking critical mass, without making a specific argument. I'd like to hear a complete thought sometime.
Erraticrider -- it doesn't matter how it's phrased. Any group ride starting in union square on the last friday of the month is going to be followed by the police. If the start location was changed periodically, there would probably be less interference.
You are correct, williamw, but the thing is, there are aspects of critical mass I agree with, and there are aspects with which I do not. Thus I seem to be jumping around on the issue (which I am, in fact). If you ask me for a summary opinion on CM, yes, I think its pretty much useless.
roughstuff
erraticrider
03-01-05, 08:37 AM
Yikes erratic..i dunno about that! They would probably argue it was now a 'conspiracy' and prosecute you under RICO or something like that....
roughstuff
It was your idea.
erraticrider
03-01-05, 08:39 AM
Erraticrider -- it doesn't matter how it's phrased. Any group ride starting in union square on the last friday of the month is going to be followed by the police. If the start location was changed periodically, there would probably be less interference.
Ah, but at some point they will cross the line and conduct a raid that cannot be supported in court and then you can slap them with a damage suit.
BuskerBiker
03-01-05, 11:02 AM
I was one of the Beaver Cleaver types to get pinched Friday night. The discussion on this indymedia page is worth reading.
http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/142561/index.php
williamw
03-01-05, 11:58 AM
You are correct, williamw, but the thing is, there are aspects of critical mass I agree with, and there are aspects with which I do not. Thus I seem to be jumping around on the issue (which I am, in fact). If you ask me for a summary opinion on CM, yes, I think its pretty much useless.
roughstuff
I can understand that. I don't think it produces much in the way of policy changes, nor do i ever think my participation will be the tipping point. But the benefits of participating in it are greater than the costs (for me). It's mostly a private and psychological benefit I get (sense of duty, seeing friends, meeting new bikers in the city, having fun, comraderie, etc.). The most significant result I see with Critical Mass is bringing a whole lot of bicyclists together.
CPcyclist
03-01-05, 01:51 PM
Thanks for taking the photo Will. I didn't even see you. And thanks for your offer as well, I am sure we will talk.
To answer a previous question, supposedly we face a $100 fine as well, a violation, not a misdem or anything. Also the guy in the green hat is a legal observer, (that is what the green hat says and denotes) and he got pinched too. A new trend since the RNC. He was waiting at the light and did not break any laws either. That is what we are looking at here. Intimidation. I think we find out today when we get our bikes back. If cops impounded cars for the same supposed violations as this, there would be very few cars here.
Cars are parading to then right. I mean if a group of bikes is a parade then a group of cars is to. This padading w/o a permite sound like total crap to me. IMO I think the Cop (pigs) are trying to get more revenue coming in they see cyclist as easy targets. How much did the city have to pay to secure the RNC on the taxpayer bill? Sounds like the mid-end of the month speed traps for cars around here.
BuskerBiker
03-01-05, 02:00 PM
I met you in the klink Friday. Are we ever going to have dinner or did you just want me for hoosgow sex? You surly riders are all the same.
brokenrobot
03-01-05, 02:55 PM
As a general approach, you and the group might consider looking up the ordinance on what constitutes a parade, just so you know what legal grounds you are really on here. The cops obviously had their instructions, but a judge might maybe be more sympathetic if you showed you know the code and didn't feel you were contravening it. Maybe.
[/list]
Trouble is, the code doesn't specify. The judges have also been remarkably sympathetic - it's just that the polie have repeatedly refused to obey the courts, so we keep getting arrested anyway!
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