Critical Mass Panic

R.I.P. Mathieu. And too many others. NYPD fall guys, claiming they don't have the resources to enforce traffic laws/ Susan Petito, Assistant Commissioner (to absent Ray Kelly) reaches down to snatch your civil rights with legal mumbo-jumbo and take away any chance at justice through sheer incompetence! February 2012 Critical Mass NYC: 13 NYPD motor vehicles, 5 cyclists. Police were present for two hours at a minimum, did not give chase to the cyclist horde. Number of foreign tourists who came to check out Critical Mass: 3. WELCOME TO NEW YORK!

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...

...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...

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?

Now I know I promised a deluge of video this week, but first, in an effort to organize my life and out myself as an incompetent human being, I am going through and putting up many half-assed, un-edited, ranting blog posts. Not unlike this one. Anyhow, if anyone cares, you might find some nuggets of wisdom, just as infinite monkeys with infinite typewriters could create the entirety of our corporate/legal/bureaucracy which we now live in. But really the only thing that this proves is that I love the sound of my fingers typing a tirade as much as I love the sound of my voice (proven by the forthcoming video). Speaking of said video, if you watched the teasers, you are probably asking yourself "how did I get tricked into wasting another 30 seconds of my life in front of a screen?" Well I assure you it is time well spent. Too often we've seen NYC Critical Mass either edited into music videos or cop-watch footage. Mainstream media typically only shows at the start and asks som...

Just cause it is Buy Nothing Day doesn't mean you shouldn't consume....here are some videos for your brain to digest...

Please Forward! Dear New York City Bicycling Community There is a growing movement for safer streets taking shape in Brooklyn, involving new legislation, motorist education and a call for cycling community input by NYPD. The death of cylcist Jasmine Herron on September 11th profoundly affected those involved on the scene that night, including 77th NYPD precinct Community Council President James Caldwell. Caldwell has mobilized elected officials from Brooklyn , including Council Member Letitia James , State Senator Eric Adams , and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, with the 77th Precinct to the cause for safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians. This started several weeks ago with a prayer vigil for Jasmine, and has continued through community meetings. These politicians have all spoken eloquently, recognizing that bicycles are a viable and growing form of transportation in NYC, and that the culture of our streets desperately needs an overhaul, starting with motorists. I ...

It was the 18th birthday of Critical Mass last Friday, old enough to vote. The ride started in San Francisco in 1992. It has been going on in NYC for nearly as long, despite the baffling and hostile approach of the NYPD towards the ride in recent years. Around 7pm 40 cyclists gathered at the new and improved Union Square as the light faded from the sky. A good crowd, many new faces. Some visitors were from LA, where they have a thriving mass ride scene, and a handful of friends of the late Andrew Wolf, a Brooklyn cyclist who was run down in broad daylight by an 18-wheeler in Canada last week. After much socializing, light distribution and information sharing regarding NYPD harassment of cyclists, the participants gathered round to hear a few of Andrew's friends speak about who he was, and what we have lost in his death. It was moving...emotionally. The mass itself stayed put. Meanwhile, dozens of NYPD officers including Transportation Chief James Tuller lurked nearby, occupying new...

I am reduced at this point to posting an e-mail I sent...hope you can all make it for a historic Friday. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mellow Yellow Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 11:03 AM Subject: Bike Power funspill continues to wreak havok on mundane life!! To: brooklynmass@lists.mutualaid. org Hey you. Yeah, you, looking so good on that bike, or unicycle. You on those roller blades, or that long-board. You, loving yourself, your streets, your city, and your community. Its summer! After a week recovering from that epic WNBR, I think I am not the only one ready to roll out together again! Below are some suggestions to maximize your good times in the coming weeks. Spread the word (FB pleez!), spread the love... TUESDAY 6/22 OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP DANCE RIDE! 7pm Tompkins Sq Park Dress funky fresh and ready to bust a move FRIDAY 6/25 DITMAS (HEART) RIDES 7pm Vox Pop (Cortelyou @ Stratford, BKLYN) Relaxed, family-friendly ride reclaiming the beautiful streets of BKLY...

It has been a long month indeed, and here at the end, I am putting up the briefest of updates, as my attention has moved towards actively participating in WNBR NYC, which happens on June 12, an international movement of missions, methods, and structure as CM. Please consider joining me and other participants in creating the streets and the world we dream is possible. As far as the streets that we have right now, there are great things happening, but there is still plenty to be desired. Last month's fizzled "bomb" in Time's Square created the intended fear in the populace, resulting in many somethings seen and somethings said to the authorities. Many a refrigerator, oddly-painted concept car, and red-backpack-containing-slippers were found in various places of possible significance and safely inspected, smashed, or detonated by the NYPD. Now, I am of course tempted to brag about how many amazing rides put on by our diverse community succeeded in this month of bikes, as...

We are the future! After tonight I have little doubt. Bicycles will one day soon flow through our streets as they once did in China, except even more free. Critical Mass will be a game made up of gangs who compete for fewest violations, largest size, and best route. GHOST RIDDAZZZ REPRESENT No lights can go off on their own. Wow the NYC game is a whole 'nother level! Pogan to be sentenced in June. Lets take the high road and work for a lean sentence, and a harder one on kelly/bloomburg. The PBA will make sure it happens, but let us take the credit! http://www.ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/top_stories/117933/trial-aside--critical-mass-rider-heads-back-out

Will you join the Ghost Rider tonight? Wear white on you bike and body APRIL 30th, 2010 7PM Union Square North

Mr. Conners (Prosecutor) Q: How many times have you viewed this video ? Mr. Pogan (Defendant) A: Too many times. Last Tuesday, April 20th, the NYPD deftly executed a humiliating blow to the good reputation of an anti-authoritarian, veteran, pot-smoking, deadly-driver but merely-reckless cyclist in the guise of a "criminal" trial against the doe-eyed Patrick Pogan. This case has had wide coverage in the media due to sensational aspects of the case and the above-mentioned, apparently not-so-damning video footage. What most reportage is missing is the clear case the defense has made that a larger conspiracy against the NYPD is being played out. The proof of anarchist-infiltrations of Critical Mass has at last been laid bare by the vocal maneuvering of slick, archetypical lawyer for former-officer Patrick Pogan, Mr. Stuart London. A quick aside: As a human being, I occasionally suffer bouts of empathy and compassion. Just as all who view the video of the inertial-halting-vector-...

I've been struggling lately to keep up with a weekly posting to this blog. I am still feeling this out, and just as my patience is short when waiting for the subway to move me around or for politicians to change my life, so too is my attention span. And time keeps moving forward! Damn! Almost everyday my irrational obsession with Critical Mass is challenged by my friends, by the authorities, by the haters, and by common sense. One blogger recently put the question "Has Critical Mass run its course?" to his readers. The responses provide many good answers to the question, and I would encourage you to check it out. Of course, pinning down a the purpose of an amorphous, non-hierarchical movement is tough to do. Every participant is in it for her or his own reasons. To me, at its most basic, CM is a celebration of non-polluting transport and community. At its best the Mass creates a space for diversity, spontaneity, creativity and fun that many folks rarely enjoy in this ...

Wet and cloudy skies earlier in the day dried up just enough to allow a gorgeous sunset around 7pm last Friday. Though the damp day had been replaced by a cool evening, dozens of bicycle riders and other free-wheeling types gathered at Union Square North. Approximately 30 people with bikes socialized for approximately 45 minutes in the approximate center of the approximately public space. The "Guardians of Safety," a.k.a. the NYPD, smartly positioned themselves around the un-licensed street-users who were a mere 20 people short of being illegally lacking a parade permit. Their brassy finery sparkling in the urban dusk like so many stars in the pre-industrial twilight-skies, top cops huddled between SUVs and motor-scooters creating a formidable mass of metal and flesh on the northwest corner. To the southwest, a less-dazzlingly attired half-dozen scooter patrol-men lounged around. Though looking bored and perhaps a bit cold, these, the most-mobile of police man/vehicle hybrids...

Two riders chatting in the heavily-misted Grand Army Plaza failed to attract the attention of the two other bicyclists who happened to pass through around 7pm. Police tripled their vehicle presence from last month, with two unmarked cars and a van. The apparent lack of interest led one rider to depart. The other made a phone call, then proceeded to make his way out to the street. The driver of an undercover vehicle asked the rider if anyone else was going to show up. The rider answered in the negative, and then invited the officers to escort him down Flatbush Avenue. Though the banter between the lone wet cyclist and the three or four officers packed into the sedan was cordial, the NYPD declined the opportunity to fulfill its duty to police Critical Mass to the fullest extent of the law, and beyond. I'd really like to know if there is any standard police protocol for how many cyclists constitute a Critical Mass. As we saw last month, four cyclists constituted a "Critical Mass...

A recent memoir by a police officer in Minnesota who did undercover surveillance of civilians planning protests the 2008 RNC. His book is full of juicy facts, and this lovely excerpt on Critical Mass is a highlight: We met at Loring Park, straddling bikes scrounged from the police bicycle impound garage. Like the ugly, rheumy-eyed dog from the pound that nobody wanted, these were unclaimed bikes that would be auctioned off or given away. They were not in terrible shape, but neither were they modern, well cared for, or tuned up. A bike aficionado from our department lubed up the gears and checked the brakes. He probably saved our lives. After some encouraging words from Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan, we sat off on the streets of downtown Minneapolis with the Minneapolis Bike Cops as escorts. The beautiful late-August day was warm and sunny. Five hundred riders filled both lanes of traffic for about five or six city blocks. The bike cops made sure that cars sharin...