Despite Bowery Death Toll, NYPD Decides Cyclists are the Real Menace

This tip is a little overdue, but 2-3 weeks ago I was pulled over on my bike by a traffic cop hiding behind a van on the east side of the Bowery, between Rivington and Prince St. He had also pulled over another cyclist, and proceeded to write him a summons for turning right on a red light. He said that the NYPD had received a lot of complaints about cyclists running the red light at Rivington. When the cyclist asked who had complained -- businesses, residents, etc. -- the cop replied, "Everyone." Interestingly, he said that he was not out to get cyclists, and rather than write him the $250 red light summons, he wanted to let him off easy with a $50 pedestrian obstruction summons. By the time he got to me, he kept me waiting while he answered a phone call, and ended up waving me off without a summons. This after about 15 minutes of watching him make a production out of how nice he was being to the other cyclist.

I decided to write to Streetsblog when I saw that, a couple of days ago, cops in the same location were writing out summonses to a good half-dozen cyclists. I guess they are doing a blitz. Cyclists using the Bowery to get to the start of the Prince Street bike lane, beware.