I'm seeing videos of NYPD officers taking peoples' bicycles without arresting them. They're not allowed to, but they have a history of doing that to punish protesters.
A short thread on some of that, involving one of the first cases I lawyered on: nypost.com/2004/10/21/ste…
A short thread on some of that, involving one of the first cases I lawyered on: nypost.com/2004/10/21/ste…
After the 2004 RNC, around which the NYPD made over 1800 arrests, the NYPD began a years-long crackdown on Critical Mass bicycle rides in New York City. The opening salvo in that crackdown came on the September 24, 2004 Critical Mass ride, when the NYPD trapped cyclists...
...on 36th Street between 5th and 6th Aves., making several arrests at one corner of the street. Some cyclists in the middle of the block locked their bikes to street fixtures and went away. The NYPD did not like that, so they brought in chainsaws, cut the locks, and stole them.
As described in affidavits: "When they returned ten to thirty minutes later, one plaintiff found his $110 Kryptonite lock cut in half and his bicycle removed....Three others discovered police in the process of sawing off their locks and seizing their bicycles....
...Plaintiffs who tried to stop the police and prove that the bicycles belonged to them were rebuffed....Plaintiff Regar was told that he could recover his bicycle only if he produced a bill of sale."
A whole NYPD barrier truckload of bikes were in NYPD custody for 2-3 weeks.
A whole NYPD barrier truckload of bikes were in NYPD custody for 2-3 weeks.
Norman Siegel and Steve Hyman stepped up and sued the City over the bike seizures, seeking a preliminary injunction that would have prevented the NYPD from seizing bikes in similar ways on future CM rides. It was a narrow due process and 1st Amendment civil rights suit. Until...
..."In a reflex action, the City move[d] for a preliminary injunction to enjoin Critical Mass bike rides absent a parade permit" -- seeking a federal injunction to prevent a few plaintiffs and "all others with notice" from participating in CM rides without police permission.
The City's reasons for the bicycle seizures? The Court summarized:
"The City has offered varying rationales for its seizure of Plaintiffs' bicycles. On September 24th, the Police Department told Plaintiffs that their bicycles were seized because they were abandoned property...
"The City has offered varying rationales for its seizure of Plaintiffs' bicycles. On September 24th, the Police Department told Plaintiffs that their bicycles were seized because they were abandoned property...
... Plaintiffs were also told that it was illegal to secure bicycles to City property....In this litigation, the City asserts that it was illegal...to leave their bicycles "unattended on a public street, whether or not they are chained to traffic signs or parking meters."...
...[and] that...[NYAC] §16-122(b) was enforced against Plaintiffs by seizing their bicycles to "redress [their] participation, and prevent their continued participation, in the September [CM] bike ride, an unlawful bicycle procession that was dangerous to public safety.""
8 days after the federal civil rights complaint was first filed, one day before the next Critical Mass ride, following public hearings and much litigation, United States District Judge William H. Pauley III preliminarily enjoined the NYPD from...
... "seizing bicycles used by participants in the October 29, 2004 Critical Mass bike ride unless said participants are provided with notice of the reasons for seizure or they are charged with a crime or violation of law."
He also denied the City's bid for an injunction. It was a big rebuke.
"A federal judge in Manhattan denied a request yesterday by the City of New York to block a mass bicycle ride scheduled for tonight without a permit," the New York Times reported.
nytimes.com/2004/10/29/nyr…
"A federal judge in Manhattan denied a request yesterday by the City of New York to block a mass bicycle ride scheduled for tonight without a permit," the New York Times reported.
nytimes.com/2004/10/29/nyr…
"The parties [were] directed to report in writing to the Court by November 5, 2004 concerning any difficulties encountered in implementing this preliminary injunction in anticipation of a further Order in advance of the November 26, 2004 Critical Mass bike ride."
The October 29, 2004 Halloween Critical Mass ride in Manhattan was fucking huge.
"By 7:35 p.m., approximately 2500 cyclists were present, with many spilling out of Union Square on to the streets and at times interfering with vehicular traffic."
"By 7:35 p.m., approximately 2500 cyclists were present, with many spilling out of Union Square on to the streets and at times interfering with vehicular traffic."
"Prior to the start of the ride, the Police Department publicized a proposed route to cyclists at the park by distributing a flyer and broadcasting announcements from a sound truck."
As are leaderless rides without pre-determined routes, that did not go over well.
As are leaderless rides without pre-determined routes, that did not go over well.
"According to the flyer, the City would not arrest riders who adhered to the proposed route, but anyone who deviated from it and violated traffic regulations would be subject to arrest."
"The flyer also stated that bicycle riding is forbidden on sidewalks, highways, bridges and tunnels, and warned that unattended bicycles, "including those locked to street fixtures, are in violation of NYC Administrative Code § 16-122.""
"The cavalcade of riders proceeded uptown on Park Avenue and spanned approximately fifteen blocks..Police officers "corked" cross-town traffic to allow the cyclists to peddle through intersections en masse, and occasionally halted the ride to allow those at the rear to catch up."
Then, "as the cyclists headed downtown, a large contingent broke off at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue.... Thereafter, the ride fragmented into a diaspora of many clusters, some as small as twenty and others as large as five hundred."
One of the reasons the ride fragmented is that the police blocked people from following their proposed route!
"At Madison Square Park, the sanctioned route led off Fifth Avenue on to Broadway....However, because of a lack of coordination by the Police Department, ...
"At Madison Square Park, the sanctioned route led off Fifth Avenue on to Broadway....However, because of a lack of coordination by the Police Department, ...
the entrance to Broadway had been cordoned off....The ensuing confusion caused many cyclists to turn west on 23rd Street....
Partly because of the police miscommunication, no more than two hundred cyclists followed the authorized route back to Union Square Park."
Partly because of the police miscommunication, no more than two hundred cyclists followed the authorized route back to Union Square Park."
"In total, the City arrested and seized the bicycles of thirty-five participants, all of whom had deviated from the recommended route."
But that's not all!
After the ride, the police attacked the after-party at the Time's Up! @nyctimesup space, and cut the locks on more bikes.
But that's not all!
After the ride, the police attacked the after-party at the Time's Up! @nyctimesup space, and cut the locks on more bikes.
"with an extremely heavy show of force, [police] shut down the group’s after-party..., arresting seven more persons for disorderly conduct in the process. In addition, police cut the locks on and seized at least three bicycles near the after-party."
amny.com/news/after-cou…
amny.com/news/after-cou…
"After last Friday’s ride, some of the bikers celebrated at an after-party at the 49 E. Houston St. storefront space of Time’s Up!, a pro-bicycling, nonprofit environmental group that publicizes Critical Mass...."
"Around midnight, a group in the basement — where bicycle wheels hung from the ceiling like mobiles — were singing “Will the real Dick Cheney please stand up?” to the tune of Eminem’s “Slim Shady,” while upstairs dancers grooved to house music."
(lol)
(lol)
"Outside, bikes of all kinds — customized high-rise ones and choppers worthy of “The Road Warrior” — were piled in mounds around tree pits. A lane of traffic in the street had been blocked off with barriers."
"...Bill Di Paolo, founder and executive director of Time’s Up!, said the ride had been a success, despite the arrests.
“Victory! Victory all around!” he said, twirling a woman by the arm.
However, just minutes later, several police cars and an unmarked blue van pulled up."
“Victory! Victory all around!” he said, twirling a woman by the arm.
However, just minutes later, several police cars and an unmarked blue van pulled up."
First, the Special Operations Lieutenant who was in charge of the police response gave an open container summons "to a man with dreadlocks for having an open beer on the sidewalk."
Then, the cops tried to break into the Time's Up! space without a warrant:
Then, the cops tried to break into the Time's Up! space without a warrant:
"Suddenly, in a flurry of activity, Fanale next came shooting away from the Time’s Up! storefront, a man in a red T-shirt in tow, and threw him onto the trunk of a police car. She then made to bolt back inside the building — but the bikers blocked her at the door....
...“Show us a warrant!” they chanted. National Lawyers Guild observers still on the scene after monitoring the ride, advised the group to also chant, “We do not consent to this search!”"
...Pausing here to note that I was one of the National Lawyers Guild Legal Observers...
...Pausing here to note that I was one of the National Lawyers Guild Legal Observers...
..."still on the scene after monitoring the ride"
drunk
But anyway, people fled out the back door while other people pushed down the metal grate in the front and...
drunk
But anyway, people fled out the back door while other people pushed down the metal grate in the front and...
"...More police arrived and formed a cordon in front of the space. An announcement was made to disperse or face arrest. By slowly walking at the crowd on either side, the police moved them toward Mott and Mulberry Sts., clearing the block...."
"...Some inside the Time’s Up! space escaped through a back entrance, though others waited for attorney Siegel to show up and help get them out...."
Thanks Norman. Got up out of bed the minute the cops showed up and came to the scene and eventually got people out safely.
Thanks Norman. Got up out of bed the minute the cops showed up and came to the scene and eventually got people out safely.
Then, and I am not making this up, though there was a federal injunction in place to prevent them from sawing the locks on and taking bikes as they had in connection with the September 2004 CM ride, the NYPD STOLE SOME MORE BIKES, this time off the fence of the Puck building!
More quotes on those bikes the NYPD sawed off the Puck Building from Lincoln Anderson's amazing and detailed reporting:
amny.com/news/after-cou…
amny.com/news/after-cou…
"A man with an Eastern European accent answering the door at the Puck Building early Saturday morning nervously said that, no, he had not called police about the bikes on the building’s fence, though police had come to talk to him about it....
...On Monday, Larry Schwartz, the Puck Building’s catering manager, who wasn’t at the building that night, said he didn’t ask police to cut the bike locks and would know if someone else had...."
Pausing the quote here because it says "catering" but he was the building manager.
Pausing the quote here because it says "catering" but he was the building manager.
"...“I had nothing to do with that — and I don’t think anybody knew anything about it,” Schwartz said. “We had no parties that night, so why would I tell police to do that? The bicycles are always on the fence, messengers…. That’s penny-ante [stuff]. I wouldn’t do that.”...
...However, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, [NYPD] top spokesperson, said they had received a complaint at 1:05 a.m. Saturday morning stating that Lukasz Kolodziejczyk, “the manager of the Puck Building, requested that bicycles chained to his property be removed.”"
🤨🧐🤔
🤨🧐🤔
The federal case continued, with only the bike seizure claims, after the US District Court dismissed the City's claims seeking a preliminary injunction that would have prevented future, unpermitted rides on December 23, 2004
casetext.com/case/bray-v-ci…
casetext.com/case/bray-v-ci…
The New Year's ride was HUGE!
No arrests.
Then the City sued Time's Up! and individual organizers in NYS Supreme Court, seeking more restrictive injunctions.
In 2006, they lost, which is a story for another time. Some of it is in this decision:
law.justia.com/cases/new-york…
No arrests.
Then the City sued Time's Up! and individual organizers in NYS Supreme Court, seeking more restrictive injunctions.
In 2006, they lost, which is a story for another time. Some of it is in this decision:
law.justia.com/cases/new-york…
As the lawsuit was ongoing and the monthly CM rides continued, so did the police crackdown.
There were mass arrests and violence every month.
And every once in a while, the cops would seize more bikes.
For example, in April of 2005....
amny.com/news/bicyclist…
There were mass arrests and violence every month.
And every once in a while, the cops would seize more bikes.
For example, in April of 2005....
amny.com/news/bicyclist…
...perhaps to be continued another time. There are other examples, but you get the idea.
