dietzpa

NYPD is more interested in making sure Ahmadinejad can go shopping at Bloomingdales than protecting their own citizens.

Typically I see 4 or 5 police officers on a full lap around the park. Tonight, at Harlem Hill a few guys ahead of me nearly got clothes-lined by a group of thugs, riding a bit behind them I received a soda to the face. I didnt see a single officer for the rest of my lap.

Yesterday or so a guy got mugged right after proposing to his girlfriend.

Cant wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us.

Maybe this belongs in another forum, but as far as I can see it's the roadies that get targeted around the loop.

Be safe out there.

CharlieWoo

Maybe you should move to a less violent city, such as Baghdad.

Bacciagalupe

Egads. Y'know people, it is not 1977, when NYC was so bankrupt, poorly protected and crime-ridden that a blackout turned into wide-spread looting and fires.

Crime is very low in NYC right now, Times Square is completely Disneyfied, even Harlem is getting gentrified. Anyone who imagines that NYC is so tremendously unsafe clearly wasn't anywhere near the city in the 70s, 80s or even 90s.

I recommend you ignore the NY Post and just ride your bike.

dietzpa

Next time you get a soda thrown in your face just riding your bike while 40 cop cars are blaring down Park Ave just a 1/4 mile away let me know.

I dont ACTUALLY know where the police are being allocated or how much $$ NYC has, Im just saying its frustrating......

patentcad

I'd love to see what that whackjob buys @ Bloomingdales. My biggest client's office is across 49th Street from the U.N. When they have these General Assembly meetings, getting over there is quite the trip into Maximum Security Land. I ride my motorcycle and try to have a patient and understanding approach. And I may have to go there this week. God help me.

CharlieWoo

In all seriousness, you guys are either a little wacky, or seriously hard core (maybe both) to ride up there. I couldn't take it - no way.

patentcad

I have ridden in Central Park under two circumstances:

• On sunny Sundays on rented bicycles with my Dad as a kid in the 1960's.

• On gloomy Sunday mornings in the March Spring Series 35+ races.

I do wonder what would happen to a group of thugs who would attempt to clothesline the testosteronfest that is the NYC Spring Series peloton. Actually, that might make a good Pay Per View on cable. By the way the races in Central and Prospect Parks in Manhattan and Brooklyn are amongst the coolest race scenes I've ever experienced, and in all the years of racing there (including twice this spring) I never had a problem with anything, including the security of my car, always parked on the street. I think this only means most NYC Thugs are sleeping @ 5-7AM.

CastIron

And here I'm all concerned that Bloomingdales will violate the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917.

scotch

Or Anbar Province. It's like Appleton, Wis. now, right?

BillyD

Get a grip.

You're completely out of touch.

Completely~!

patentcad

Correct.

Actually, with all the hours I spent on the NYC Subway system in the late 1970's, I have no business being alive. Yet here I am. Go figure. Those were the days. Crack Hos, litter, decay, unbridled street crime, blackouts, and best of all, Times Square wasn't like Disneyworld, it was like Taxi Driver. Sigh. Now you're making me nostalgic.

Not really.

Pcad, NYU, Class of 1980.

papercutninja

Don't ride above 100th st. I don't give a crap about how "gentrified" that area is. The natives still don't have jobs and do nothing more than hang out at parks.

oboeguy

I meet pals for a ride at 6AM about twice per week on my way to work and don't have problems. I do remember the days though when roadies would get clotheslined -- never rode there growing-up for that reason!

Bacciagalupe

Hey, not saying you should've enjoyed the splashing sensation. In fact if I received that kind of behavior, I'd pedal past and dial 911 on the ol' cell. But, that said:


1) Isolated incidents != trends. Spotting 1 or 2 incidents in Central Park, or even being a victim yourself, hardly indicates that "omg roadies are getting targeted!" or "omg crime is up!" or "omg we need to blanket the park with cops!"

Multi-year declines in crime rates, on the other hand? Where crime is lower than it was in 1965? Definitely a trend. See for yourself: https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm

Or, of course, you can get some Central Park CompStat info, including the "75% decline in crime in the Park since 1993" bits. If you know where to look. https://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloa...s/cs022pct.pdf


2) The UN always ties up traffic, ties up NYPD, generates lots of OT for the cops, and so forth. They always make a mess of things. It's all part of the joy of hosting a bunch of diplomats. What are you, new?


3) You should expect reasonable police protection, but the cops can't be everywhere all at once, especially in an environment like Central Park. I can't even remember the last time I saw a cop on the West Side Greenway, for example.

What can I say, I'm fine with having cops around, but I'd rather not live in a police state where there are cops and CC cameras watching my every move. Even if that means I have to fend for myself every once in a blue moon.

Yoshi

Hahaha!

Frunkin

Dude,
We had like one murder this year! Its crazy scary out there. I never leave the house without a buddy or a 12" knife. Last year we had 3 bomb days at school. Craziness. I would say that apppleton is pretty comparable to Iraq.

texascyclist

Do you work for the NYPD PR dept? Seriously, you are going through a lot of effort to explain away an experience that would horrify 99% of the US. That kind of environment is just completely unacceptable.

ri_us

I've been riding from about 5:45am to 7:00am in CP for years and have never had any problems. I have occasionally heard about bands of thugs. I was harrassed by a small band of thugs at Union Square last year. One of them threw a mostly empty water bottle at me so I rode a small distance away and called the cops. A cop was there in about a minute and the cop and I walked over to the group, I identified the thrower and he was arrested (he had a warrant).

I know lots of people in NYC criticize the cops but this is part of what they're there for. Our city is, statistically, as safe as Portland. And it's getting better. Call the cops, get these people busted and all our boats rise.

botto 

Ignorance is bliss.

WxGuesser

maybe you should start riding with a weapon yourself..... take a few of them out and their friends will.. might think twice next time.... of course i'm completely joking... or not..

labrat_62

Eh, if you don't like that kind of treatment, don't move to philly. in addition to the kids trying to push you off your bike, we have rouge geese which are even worse. Their only goal in life is to get a beak stuck in your spokes and send you over the bars.

Lucky07

Wow. You need to check that. Hate isn't going to get you anywhere.

I've been riding Central Park for the past 3 years, at least a couple of times a week, year round. The most persistant 'problem' is people riding/running the wrong way or jumping out into the road without looking. But as it's been stated a million times before, it's a public space made for everybody and as a vehicle you need to keep an eye out.

As for incidents, in the hundreds of times I've been up there only once did I have have an issue. I was a kid waving his wet towel around in the middle of road. (Yes, he got me, and man that stung... ) Pretty mild. I told a nearby cop and he had a discussion with the kid.

Police presence at the Park seems pretty consistant to me. I've ridden as early as 5am or as late as 11:30pm & there are always cops patrolling.

It's a massive city and you'd be naive to think bad things never happen. But they could happen anywhere at anytime. Just ride smart & look out for yourself.

MrCjolsen

Sodas in the face happen everywhere in this country, not just New York. Yes, crime may be down but that doesn't stop people from being buttholes.

papercutninja

[QUOTE=Lucky07;5328681]Wow. You need to check that. Hate isn't going to get you anywhere.
QUOTE]


It's not hate, sir. It's reality. There are still parts of Manhattan that are rough. You said to ride smart. Yup. I'm avoiding the areas of the park where certain groups seem to congregate.

patentcad

It is astonishing that there are people still this stupid on our planet, but there it is.

I've actually bicycled through Harlem and Washington Heights numerous times. I'm still here. Pcad is not afraid, and he has been in and around Manhattan and the 5 boros for many decades. The most dangerous thing about cycling in Central Park are the potholes and the joggers (DO stay out of the jogger's lane).