6000 Bicyclists Terrorrize NYC

6,000 Bicyclists swarm the streets of NYC
by B. Okie
Around 6:30pm on Friday, August 27, bicyclists were gathering at Union Square for the monthly Critical Mass ride. This ride was of course special because of the Republican National Convention going on in NYC the week of August 30 through September 2. The Critical Mass (CM)ride was a kickoff for a week of street protests, political gatherings, art and public theater events inspired by a common disgust for the RNC.

The police were present at Union Square passing out flyers with bike-related laws, trying to intimidate CMers from participating in what has traditionally been a ride that follows its own rules instead of the government's.

The ride was amazing, to have 6000 cyclists riding as a group through the streets with people cheering on th sidewalks like a parade. As a cyclist, it feels good to actually feel safe and get respect on the road instead of always being forced to submit to automobile traffic.

We did not see any trouble with the police until the ride went near Times Square, a site temporarily occupied by CM on every ride. We saw an increased number of cops and police vehicles, and barricades along the sidewalks in the area in and around Times Square. The police blocked off Seventh Avenue at 34th street, forcing many cyclists to go back or be arrested.

At least three of the arrestees on Seventh Avenue were National Lawyers Guild Legal Observers, whose job it was to gather the names of arrestees and monitor the police. When the police ordered cyclists to move back, I moved to the side. Unable to move onto the sidewalk because of the barricades, I was grabbed by a police officer and handcuffed (much too tightly) with plastic cuffs. Several of the Legal Observers who were merely attempting to gather the names of arrestees were also arrested in this hasty mass arrest.

Most of the ride continued west on 35th street, if they had not already broken off into smaller groups earlier on in the ride. The police again attempted to blockade the ride,this time with orange netting. Although more riders were arrested, including a couple who walked out of a restaurant with hot take-out food in hand, a couple who had gone grocery shopping and held bags of groceries, and a wall street businessman in suit who had just stepped onto the street to ride to work, most of the Critical Massers escaped.

On 2nd Avenue in the Lower Eat Side, police continued with mass arrests. Some were arrested at 17th and the bulk of the remaining arrestees at 10th street. The ride was over and bicyclists were socializing and looking for places to park their bikes. Some cyclists reported being ordered to disperse in one direction only to be confronted by fierce riot cops ready for a brawl when they did. Officers in riot gear corralled cyclists, refused to let them disperse, threw them on the ground, on vehicles, and generally roughed them up.

The Criminalization of Bicyclists
At least 260 cyclists were arrested that night in Manhattan. Clearly, the cops were looking for a reason to arrest any and all that had a bicycle that happened to be near the Critical Mass ride. Although, the cops have never given NYC Critical Mass trouble in the past, and have even at times provided escorts, on Friday, August 27, NYPD was inconsistent, misleading, cruel, and unfair. At times on the ride the cops told cyclists to stop at lights, at other times they stopped side traffic with a green light so that the Critical Mass could pass. The incidents at 2nd Ave. and 10th street, where cyclists were mass arrested even though the ride was over, clearly shows that NYPD was looking for a reason to mass arrest cyclists.

On Saturday outside Madison Square Garden, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said "They chose to drive 5,000 bicycles through midtown Manhattan. Obviously the government had to respond in some fashion." When people drive many more than 5,000 cars down Manhattan streets everyday causing wrecks, injuries, and air pollution, thats not a problem? Why didn't the "government respond in this manner to any of the previous rides that drew more than a thousand cyclists?

NYPD had prepared a warehouse/ processing station at Pier 57 on the West Side of Manhattan to detain and process up to 1000 protesters each day of the planned week of NoRNC protests. the Critical Mass ride was their opportunity to put this warehouse to use and practice for the upcoming days of action. A big displayed cardboard sign replica behind the processing tables showed arresting officers how to fill out a property clerk's invoice for a confiscated bicycle, further proving that NYPD planned to mass arrest Critical Massers long before the ride began.

In the days that followed Friday, August 27, bicyclists were among the most harassed and arrested of all the protesters. On Sunday, August 29, the bike bloc in solidarity with the big United For Peace and Justice march was harassed, blockaded, detained and arrested from the moment they left Union Sqare. That afternoon, cyclists on Broadway were targeted with harassment or arrest for merely passing through the area during the peaceful Mouse Bloc actions intended to send messages to the RNC delegates going to Broadway shows.

It is not just a matter of bicyclists being targeted as protesters. In a country at war over oil, with a government administration of oil executives, in a city hosting that ruling government's political convention, cyclists are targeted for political reasons. Because bicycles as a transportation option present a threat to the oil and car industry in this country, they have already historically not been given fair treatment and infrastructure in city planning. In NYC during the NoRNC convergence, the targeting of bicyclists for arrest shows that they are seen as a real threat to the powers that be.

For many of the arrestees that night, being arrested was a first. It was my first time being arrested, and although I did not enjoy the experience, it was a learning experience, something that adds another dimension to my understanding of just how messed up this system is. For the wall street businessman and all the other privileged people arrested that night, they now have a taste of what it is like to be among those people all too frequently harassed by police and law enforcement for the color of their skin, the neighborhood they live in, or the way they look.

Story of a Critical Mass Arrest
The other cyclists and I grabbed by the police on Seventh Avenue were never told we were under arrest and never read our rights. When I asked the officer that grabbed me if I was under arrest, he kind of shrugged. While kept in a little pen on Seventh Avenue, reporters swarmed around us asking questions and shoving cameras in our faces. "What's your message?" "What were you doing?"

Gradually, buses showed up. The Arresting officers forced the cyclists and their bikes on the buses. As I was boarding the bus, several bystanders raised their fists in solidarity. It gave me some hope. As the bus I was on headed toward the notorious Pier 57, it attempted to turn right onto a narrow street lined with cars. The warning from the police officers on the bus was too late, the bus hit the Cadillac Escalade parked on the corner causing the vehicle to shake and the alarm to go off. How ironic that the bus full of Critical Mass arrestees hits an SUV on the way to the jail!
Once we arrived at the Pier 57 warehouse, an old bus depot, we were taken off the bus with our bikes by the arresting officers. We waited in line as each cyclist was photographed 3 times and then a photo was taken of the bike. We were searched and our belongings were put in a bag. It felt good to finally get the tight plastic cuffs cut off. We were placed in chain-link cages with razor-wire, each containing two or three wooden benches and a water dispenser. The floor of the warehouse was covered in an oily residue that caused skin rashes on some prisoners and filthy stains on everyones clothes that sat or laid down.

Orders form the top, frustration at the bottom
The police officers were visible frustrated and unhappy with the warehouse process. As I watched the police officers fumble around with the paperwork, bikes, and prisoners, unsure of what to do next, I thought about comments I've heard people make about activist or anarchist groups being unorganized and laughed to myself at the confusion of the police. When my name was called to leave the first cage and go through the tables of paperwork and property confiscation, I heard my arresting officer comment to another that "there's no way this is going to continue like this tomorrow." The younger cops and oftentimes the officers of color were frustrated and disgruntled by bureaucratic process and the orders of the commanding officers, who walked around, barked orders, and chuckled to each other.

It feels good to be free...or sort-of free
On Saturday, August 28th, I was released from jail on a Desk Appearance ticket, with the promise that I would be back to see a judge in a couple weeks. It was great to have jail support people waiting outside with legal aid info, food, and support.