Critical Mass Panic

...to update this blog. I hope you voted using my fancy new widget at the top of the page. It is some hot fresh, free code courtesy Google and Princeton which will no doubt further aid in our quest to #OCCUPY our future. If you are curious about what the hell I have been up to I would reccommend getting out of the stone ages and getting on twitter, or at least google @critmasspanic to see what I have been up to. My youtube channel has gotten a few uploads and hella views as I #OccupySanJose... There is so much I want to tell you, dear internet: about my creative desperation while working with my father at the start of the year, or about how awesome bike month was in NYC, the WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE in NYC (wnbrnyc.tumblr.com), or about how that shit got postponed, then pwned by NYPD, but we fuckin outlasted them until they had to give us permission to run the red lights. Or about how nuclear radiation is killing us all more quickly now, despite Time's Up!'s massive banners. I'

It is my solemn duty and honor to inform you that this Friday is the last Friday of the month of March, which makes it Critical Mass around the world. 7pm Union Square North. "Why would I want to do a bike ride that is guaranteed to be harassed by the NYPD?" You might be thinking...well, the truth is that now is the time to revive NYC CM because cyclists are, after many years of battling for the right to ride safely, we are finally WINNING! Ray Kelly and the NYPD have taken their bicycle bias a bit too far, publicly demonstrating their utter incompetence. They are now on the defensive ... The Haters of safer streets like Prospect Park West have been called out by the cycling clowns at Time's Up, shaming them only slightly more than they had already publicly shamed themselves... And the heavy-weight, washed-up politicians are running scared from the image their inside dealings has wrought... Ride Solidarity! with the cyclists of Porto Alegre ... AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...

You often hear disparaging remarks about Critical Mass, and indeed, NYC CM is pretty dead these days. Between the 5+ years of police repression of the ride on the last Friday of the month, the current NYPD "crackdown", and the icy, slushy, filthy, freezy streets, its no wonder you get more bodies showing up for a WNBR meeting than cyclists for a CM! But Critical Mass is not dead! If you have been paying any attention this week, you have witnessed its power. Egyptians of all walks of life have gathered together for days and days in public space, self-organized as equals to get a message out and build empowered community. Admittedly, it is not "Down with Cars!", but rather "Down with Mubarak!" Able to hold the space through the sheer power of their numbers alone, participants of this critical mass have begun to pay dearly with life, limb and liberty. I hope you all will join me in standing, sitting, walking, talking, and riding in solidarity with the people

Friday, January 28th 7pm Union Square North Bikes or not here we come. Cyclists, pedestrians and others demanding safer streets and freedom in public spaces will gather with love, creativity, resolve and solidarity. We will beat back the hate and ignorance behind the backlash, beat back the automobile and corporate interests, we will speak to the NYPD with our words and with our actions. We will show how safe we can ride, and how the streets will be in the future! We will reveal "Operation Safe Cycle" for what it is: a farce. Don't let fear keep you from having community. Don't let fear silence the vote of your presence. I challenge to NYPD to ride bikes. Why are they afraid? I challenge City Council Members, Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, and Borough Presidents to show up to Union Square North this Friday at 7pm. I challenge those who fear, those who believe the lies, those who have slandered us, those who are tools of the corporate media to be there, to see the tr

My previous, minimally-completed post reproduced an e-mail sent to a Brooklyn cyclist regarding the 78th Precinct's approach to "Operation Safe Cycle". I posted it here on this blog in the effort to comply with the request made by the Community Affairs Police Officer. Last night at the Community Board 6 meeting on the Prospect Park West Bike Lane's incredible success at making a safer street, the Community Affairs Officers of the 78th Precinct, Mitch and Jerry, approached me. They expressed frustration that I had posted their phone number online as they were now experiencing a backlog of phone messages on their shared answering machine, regarding bicycle complaints. In fact, Jerry explicit threatened me. In hopes of ensuring justice is met in the case of my untimely death, the below e-mails, reproduced in full w/o the offending contact information, tell the story: Wed, January 5, 2011 8:37:49 AM Bicycle Safety Enforcement From: "KIRSHY, MITCHELL" To: XXXX@X

This was an e-mail passed to me by a friend. FYI. Be sure to educate your safe-riding selves. The New York City Police Department is putting an emphasis on enforcement against bicycle riders who violate the New York State Vehicle Traffic Law (ie. redlight, riding outside the bike lane, etc.). It is anticipated that this will result in enforcement activity being taken against those who operate their bicycles in an illegal manner. If you could please pass the word along to your friends and co bike riders. P.O. Mitchell Kirshy Community Affairs 78 Precicnt 65 6th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217 Office: 718-636-6410 Fax : 718-636-6403 AND WHY IS HALLOWEEN ONLY ONCE A YEAR DARN IT?

Do I really need to point out the irony of Shitty Council Member David Greenfield's comments at the joke of the hearing on bikes last month? He almost makes sense at some point in this video when he says he "wants the world to see what is happening...[all of his] constituents are running out of oil!" Try to tune out the rest or you might start to get confused.