Friday, March 7, 2008

Times Square Bombing: NYPD Crackdown on cyclists?



What's going on in NYC? First Monster Track main race gets cancelled, then someone on a bicycle set off a bomb at the military recruiting station in Times Square and as a concequece, blogs report that an NYPD bike crackdown is already underway.

"This report was found in the used bike section of Craigslist on Tuesday morning. Listed for sale at $1 on the Lower East Side was the following:

Cops are ticketing bikers at Delancey 
Reply to: sale-595068813@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-03-04, 9:50AM EST

Cops were flagging down people coming off of the Williamsburg bridge and ticketing them for running red lights this morning. I just thought I'd put the word out.

The cop informed me that this summer they may be looking to 'crack down' on bikers more. Just to make a point, I'm going to court to protest the ticket I received. The whole thing is just really silly; they want people to bike more, they do not provide "safe" bike lanes, and they punish people who bike. In order to bike safely in the city, you must break regular traffic laws. How they expect any biker to get across Delancey in morning rush hour from the far left lane (where there is no bike lane or shoulder) to the right without running a red light when the rest of traffic has stopped is beyond me. None of this is helping in the "us vs. them" divide between those driving cars and cyclists. About 3 other bikers and I were standing with the cop, and I have to say, it was refreshing that no one had a terrible attitude. Biking puts people in a better mood."

In any case, what's worse is the fact that if you look at my photo up there on right, you might recognize certain resemblance with suspected hooded bike-riding bomber... No, it wasn't me!  

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