Hundreds of New Yorkers rode in a group ride on Friday to protest the Police Department's Draconian enforcement push against cyclists, calling on Mayor Adams and Commissioner Jessica Tisch to stop giving out criminal court summonses for low-level offenses.
The "Critical Mass" ride launched from Union Square and proceeded to Midtown before looping back down to City Hall, and marked the first mass demonstration against the policy Tisch rolled out a month ago.
Riders followed traffic rules to a T — stopping at every red light regardless of whether pedestrians or cars were present — or exposed the ridiculousness of the NYPD strategy by hopping off their bikes and walking against the red light at intersections, a move that the city legalized last year.
"I just think it’s bullshit what they're doing," one attendee, Erin Poland, told Streetsblog about the NYPD push, which, she said, is "not actually protecting cyclists [but] putting them in more danger and in more harm."
Another rider feared the crackdown will endanger her right to be in the country as an immigrant, which has been a growing concern among lawmakers and advocates.
"I’m here on a Green Card, getting one of these criminal summonses could be damaging for me," said the person, who asked to not be identified. "I hope this sends the message that cyclists aren’t the enemy. We’re here to work with the city and it would be great if the city considered us part of the road and started making rules that put us not last – not necessarily first – but put us in the picture."
Tisch has defended the harsher penalties for violations like running red lights or going the wrong way as necessary to rein in "out-of-control" e-bikes, despite a dearth of data to back it up, and cops have targeted plenty of non-e-bikers too, including pulling a Taser on one cyclist a week ago.
Meanwhile, drivers of cars and trucks cause virtually all traffic deaths and fatalities, but get off with a simple traffic ticket that they can pay online. Even worse, one rider told Streetsblog that drivers have hit her twice, but those motorists came away scot-free.
"I’ve been hit by vehicles twice – pretty badly – and while I was completely following the traffic laws. And as far as I know, those drivers face no criminal charges," said Tara Pham.
The coming months look to become a bike crackdown summer under Mayor Adams, who woke up in bizarro world last week when he said that the city's Vision Zero safety initiative has focused on enforcement against drivers for "far too long."
The clampdown continued apace over the weekend, when cops on Saturday locked up a Citi Bike rider for apparently not moving out of the way and failing to provide identification.
The cyclist, Nabihah Ahmad, said she was on her way to a yoga class and didn't have ID on her, and that she was maneuvering around drivers blocking the bike lane when she supposedly got in the way of the squad car, according to a TikTok post she uploaded the same day.
Ahmad even filmed her interaction with an agitated Boy in Blue repeatedly insisting she give ID, and posted footage of her sitting inside a precinct cell, while slamming the ordeal as a "power trip right before my eyes."
It's a video we hope Commissioner Tisch will watch:
@ahmadnabihah They accused me of 1. Failed to present document-nyc (I literally had no ID on me) 2. Failed to comply with order-nyc (I did everything they told me to) 3. Failed to yield right of way to emergency vehicle (there was no space to move in the congested zone)
♬ original sound - Nabihah Ahmad
With Emily Lipstein, Dave Colon, and Sophia Lebowitz
In other news:
- Speaking of crackdowns, get ready for the pedicab crackdown in Central Park. (Gothamist)
- Lots of rich people and corporations are backing Andrew Cuomo's mayoral run. Let's see if that works out for them (NY Times). Meanwhile, the Working Families Party endorsed Zohran Mamdani (Gothamist).
- People really love it when the Department of Transportation creates great car-free public space. (amNY)
- So let me get this straight: Car drivers have been killing our kids, polluting our air, congesting our roads and ruining our cities for more than 100 years, but we're the ones who are supposed to play nice? (The Guardian)
- More whining from entitled drivers. If you don't want to pay a toll to enter the most congested part of the city, don't drive into it. (NY Post)
- Don't hail this cab. (NY Post)
- We have a new Parks Commissioner. (amNY, Gothamist)
- And, finally, here's a headline we've been waiting to see all year. (amNY)
