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...
The review of documentary photographs and video is conclusive. In a city that boasts at least 15,000 bicycle commuters , the freely (dis)organized event known as "Critical Mass" consisted of 3 cyclists this past Friday. Admittedly, the commuter statistic is derived from fair-weather riders between the months of April and October, but one would think that with this kind of population density, you could get at least 5 people to commute together on bicycles even in the dead of winter. They can do it in Anchorage Alaska . I don't know if the kids are turning this particular phrase anymore these days, but c'mon NYC, that is some weak sauce. This is lamer than an Obama presidency. In fact, "Critical Mass" proved last week that it is easier to get people engaged in inane task of throwing snowballs at a monument, than to ride a bike this time year. This photo does not show it, but several passers-by, including a little girl, joined in coating this rock-hard tower i...
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