NY1\Bikes Returned, But Critical Mass Riders Remain Angry

http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/Sub...entintid=49710

[There is TV footage on the above weblink.]

Bikes Returned, But Critical Mass Riders Remain Angry
NY1 | 04-Apr-2005

A group of Critical Mass riders get their bikes back from
police, but they're not exactly happy about it.

The bikes were among 50 that were seized during last month's
ride. Most were returned last Friday, but a few remaining
bikers didn't get their rides back until Monday.

The riders say they were never charged or even issued a summons,
and so they're considering a lawsuit for illegal seizure.

"I was not arrested and I was not doing anything illegal, but
the police still cut my lock with a saw and confiscated my
property," said Critical Mass rider Jamie Favaro.

"The police were basically told by a federal judge they cannot
take property without linking it to an arrest, and they're
basically in contempt of court for disobeying a federal judge's
orders," said fellow rider Michael Green.

For its part, the NYPD says the bikes were seized because they
were chained illegally.

A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not
chaining a bike illegally in the city.

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
om...

snip emotionware


"The bikes were seized because they were chained illegally."

" A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not chaining a
bike illegally in the city."


Sounds like your own Damn Fault, Critical Ass Morons.

Jonny wrote:

"The bikes were seized because they were chained illegally."

" A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not chaining a
bike illegally in the city."

Translation: Here's a law that is never enforced at any time
except when we want to harass people who we think are involved
with something that we don't like, but don't have any legal
standing to do anything about it.

--
Steven O'Neill

Although I currently have a car, I have chosen for the last 40 years to
commute, shop and get around NYC by bike and I have always chained my
bike up to any public poll if no bike poll was available which is for
the most part 99.9% of the city. I didn't know that there is a statute
that makes this illegal.

Does anyone know what the statute actually says? How long has it been on
the books?

Also were the police targeting critical mass participants when they saw
them chaining their bikes up or were they clipping any chained bike they
saw in that area?

Although I never participated in a CM ride, I would hate to think the
police would have grabbed my bike if I happened to be in the area at the
time.

Steven M. O'Neill wrote:

Jonny wrote:



"The bikes were seized because they were chained illegally."

" A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not chaining a
bike illegally in the city."



Translation: Here's a law that is never enforced at any time
except when we want to harass people who we think are involved
with something that we don't like, but don't have any legal
standing to do anything about it.

"Jonny" writes:

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
om...

snip emotionware

"The bikes were seized because they were chained illegally."

" A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not chaining a
bike illegally in the city."

Sounds like your own Damn Fault, Critical Ass Morons.

Since the reason for chaining a bike to something is to park it with
some modest assurance that the bike will not be stolen when you get
back, it sounds to me like "Jonny" and the NYPD are in cahoots
with the city's criminal element, even if unwittingly.

If there is a law that makes bike parking effectively impossible in
New York, that law should be repealed ASAP, and it has nothing to
do with "Critical Mass": you can't participate in a Critical
Mass bike ride if your bike is parked.

Bill

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 18:56:28 GMT, (Bill Z.)
wrote:

"Jonny" writes:

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
om...

snip emotionware

"The bikes were seized because they were chained illegally."

" A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not chaining a
bike illegally in the city."

Sounds like your own Damn Fault, Critical Ass Morons.

Since the reason for chaining a bike to something is to park it with
some modest assurance that the bike will not be stolen when you get
back, it sounds to me like "Jonny" and the NYPD are in cahoots
with the city's criminal element, even if unwittingly.

If there is a law that makes bike parking effectively impossible in
New York, that law should be repealed ASAP, and it has nothing to
do with "Critical Mass": you can't participate in a Critical
Mass bike ride if your bike is parked.

Bill
The cops in NYC are just a bunch of beer drinking Long Island ******s
who think riding a bike in NYC is an illegal activity.

JoeD wrote:
Although I never participated in a CM ride, I would hate to
think the police would have grabbed my bike if I happened to be
in the area at the time.

That's exactly what what some people who had their bike taken
are alleging did happen.

--
Steven O'Neill

"Critical Mass Riders Remain Angry"

Isn't that a redundancy? CM riders seem to be perpetually angry, so this is
nothing new.

GG

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
om...
http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/Sub...entintid=49710

[There is TV footage on the above weblink.]

Bikes Returned, But Critical Mass Riders Remain Angry
NY1 | 04-Apr-2005

A group of Critical Mass riders get their bikes back from
police, but they're not exactly happy about it.

The bikes were among 50 that were seized during last month's
ride. Most were returned last Friday, but a few remaining
bikers didn't get their rides back until Monday.

The riders say they were never charged or even issued a summons,
and so they're considering a lawsuit for illegal seizure.

"I was not arrested and I was not doing anything illegal, but
the police still cut my lock with a saw and confiscated my
property," said Critical Mass rider Jamie Favaro.

"The police were basically told by a federal judge they cannot
take property without linking it to an arrest, and they're
basically in contempt of court for disobeying a federal judge's
orders," said fellow rider Michael Green.

For its part, the NYPD says the bikes were seized because they
were chained illegally.

A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not
chaining a bike illegally in the city.

snip emotionware

"The bikes were seized because they were chained illegally."

" A spokesman for the department says while they recognize the
inconvenience of having a bike seized, it can be avoided by not
chaining a bike illegally in the city."

=v= How remarkable. You snip out the part of the story where real
people step forward and have their say, but the deliberately-spun
(and inaccurate) soundbite from the P.R. department is your idea
of gospel truth.

=v= None of these people chained their bike illegally.

=v= There is no law against chaining up a bike in NYC, unless it
impedes pedestrian or vehicle traffic. Thousands of bikes are
locked up in exactly the same way and locations every day in NYC.

=v= The NYPD uses an "abandoned property" statute as a pretext,
despite the fact that the bikes are clearly not abandoned. This
was demonstrated in federal court last December, and a Federal
judge issued an injunction against the NYPD doing this. Did you
not follow the news on that, or do you generally ignore anything
that's not rote spin from the NYPD's P.R. flacks?
_Jym_

"wk" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 18:56:28 GMT, (Bill Z.)
wrote:

snip


Since the reason for chaining a bike to something is to park it with
some modest assurance that the bike will not be stolen when you get
back,

If there is a law that makes bike parking effectively impossible in
New York, you can't participate in a Critical
Mass bike ride if your bike is parked.

just get the bicycles out of the city and your problems are over.

Critical Mass = bunch of teenager angsts trying to cause accidents with
cars, trucks, pedestrians whatever by blocking roads and access to
hospitals. = they only **** people off at CM and then never support CM's
causes. morons