Be sure to count the undercover police on bikes as cops, not cyclists for an accurate estimate of how much taxpayer money is spent to bolster NYC's CM turnout with professional agitators.
Wow. In Austin, even the month immediately after somebody pulled a gun on the mass after he (intentionally?) hit a rider, the police followed the ride, but only with two or three motorcycle cops and a helicopter for about 150 riders.
Usually, there's no police presence at all (unless somebody gets a ticket for a red light or something) ...
Okay, so I am finally posting. I was having trouble expressing myself on in 140-or-less on my Twitter account (@critmasspanic). Also my pathetic plea to my facebook "friends" to accompany an "invite" for "F*ck Ur Cliques & Ur Scenes - Lets ride!" (Critical Mass, obviously) just was not coming together right. Lastly, I promised myself I would at least drop a mass e-mail to let folks know the cool shit going down. Or potentially going down, with a little participation in creating the world we want to see, from you, dear readers. So without further ado, a brief rant, and some suggested events you might attend. The NYPD have been in the hot seat a lot lately, especially following last week's city council hearing on the utter failure to hold anyone accountable for traffic "accidents." I tried (but mostly failed) to speak eloquently on the record about the utter waste of resources, the (further) corruption of police culture, and the failure o
Now it is personal. In October, I posted about some of the efforts made by the James Caldwell, the 77th NYPD Precinct and the cycling community here in Brooklyn in the wake of Jasmine Herron's death. I have not put too much info out here as these various efforts take shape, as it is not really within the scope or tone of this joke of a blog. However, at the moment circumstances have occurred which illustrate the nature of the battle pedestrians and cyclists are fighting here on the streets of New York City. So I am touching on this politically sensitive matter. Last night, a close personal friend of mine was hit by a reckless, speeding cab while on his bicycle. His account, with [my edits and clarifications] in brackets... So... Due to circumstances, I rode out in the middle of the night, ... left around 1 AM, making my way [on] Bedford heading south. I heard/saw a car heading east on St. Marks Ave, so I stopped in the [crosswalk] and waited. A taxi rounded the corner really sharp
Wow. In Austin, even the month immediately after somebody pulled a gun on the mass after he (intentionally?) hit a rider, the police followed the ride, but only with two or three motorcycle cops and a helicopter for about 150 riders.
ReplyDeleteUsually, there's no police presence at all (unless somebody gets a ticket for a red light or something) ...