Check out the FreeWheels Guide to Your critical mass traffic summons.

1.26.07 NYPD promulgates new, repressive parade rules. See the NYCLU report here.

6.23.06 Cyclist in Critical Condition After Colliding with NYPD Tow Truck—NY1, June 23, 2006

4.14.06 The Smolka Easter Bonnet This gem comes to us from our friend, Leigh, who captured the real spirit of our favorite NYPD Assistant Chief on her Critical Mass-inspired Easter bonnet.

(DISCLAIMER: Though Chief Smolka has on occasion been known to harass elves, goblins, witches, and once even gave Santa Claus a speeding ticket during inclement weather on Christmas Eve, the notion of him arresting the Easter Bunny is purely fictitious.)

4.9.06 We're Not Sure What to Call it, but "The Spring 2005 Critical Mass Legal Picture Book" comes close to describing it.

4.5.06 The Villager uses puns and reports on the March Critical Mass.
Riders Do Not Beware the Ride of March
—Jefferson Siegel

3.27.06 Manhattan Critical Mass is this Friday, March 31, leaving Union Square (& other locations) at 7pm.

While you're waiting for Critical Mass to roll around, take a look at this article from the Village Voice: mutant bike gangs of new york, by Karen Iris Tucker.

3.10.06 AMNew York: critical mass rides gearing up
—by Justin Rocket Silverman
—comment on this Article
—view cover page

3.07.06 WCBS TV: "critical mass" bike ride gets dangerous
One Woman Claims She Was Thrown From Her Bike by the NYPD
—Lou Young, reporting

3.02.06 In This Week's Villager
police may be back pedaling from crackdown on cyclists
—by Jefferson Siegel

editorial: it's time to de-escalate critical mass clash and improve city biking "While free-spirited individuality is the name of the game on these rides, the cyclists should try to rein in bad behavior, since it only hurts their cause."

cover photo and links to articles

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3.02.06 criminal court update
"At trial, the officers testified that they were part of a Scooter Task Force deployment that lay in wait for bicyclists at 12th Street and 2nd Avenue. The officers testified that they entered the intersection in order to cut off the movement of the flow of bicyclists. One officer testified that he saw 3-4 bicyclists cross the intersection before the scooter in front of him began moving at a 'moderate' speed into the intersection. The goal, according to both officers, was to form a line, tire-to-tire, to cut off the flow of the bicyclists."
—Gideon Oliver, defense attorney

3.01.06 Two from the Village Voice
critical mass vs. "daily news" March 1, 2006
nypd carries smaller stick this week February 25, 2006
—both by Sarah Ferguson

& One from the New York Press
spinning their wheels:
Did Critical Mass win a big victory for the city's bike riders? Or is Time's Up using it for its own purposes?
—by Tony Dokoupil

2.27.06 Today's History Lesson
"A new wrinkle in traffic control was added by the bicycle craze of the 1890's, when large numbers of cyclists took to the city's streets. In December of 1895 Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt organized the Police Department's Bicycle Squad, which quickly acquired the nickname 'Scorcher Squad.' The Scorcher Squad soon found itself with the responsibility of enforcing the speed regulations not just for bicycles, but for the newest toy of the wealthy: the automobile. An officer stationed in a booth would record the speeds of passing vehicles. When excessive speed was observed, he would telephone ahead to the next booth, and a uniformed officer would be dispatched on a bicycle to stop the offender. Traffic summonses did not then exist, so speeders caught by Scorchers were arrested on the spot and brought before the judge."
—from a brief history of traffic control in new york city
—photo of the scorcher squad

2.26.06 New York Times February 26, 2006
after judge's ruling, fewer are arrested in mass bike ride
"The police apparently did not use a charge, parading without a permit, that judges have said was either unconstitutional or wrongly applied to the Critical Mass ride, said Gideon O. Oliver, a lawyer who has represented dozens of the riders."
—by Jim Dwyer

More Press:
critical mass gets rolling for first time since court ruling
—NY1
critical mass rides again
—Gothamist
editorial: put the brakes on two-wheeled rebels
—New York Daily News

2.24.06 New York Times February 24, 2006
aggressiveness of bike chases stirs questions for the police
"Police vehicles have driven the wrong way down busy Midtown streets and have cut at sharp, brake-screeching angles across Greenwich Village avenues, videotapes show. They have climbed onto sidewalks to skirt traffic jams near Grand Central Terminal, according to witnesses. . . On all these occasions, police officers in vehicles have been chasing bicycle riders. . ."
—by Jim Dwyer

—New York Times video

2.24.06 Don't miss it!
critical mass: first ride since Judge Stallman's decision
Friday, February 24, 2006

2.22.06 Panel Discussion
bikes, the police, & you
Cardozo Law School
55 Fifth Avenue (@12th Street)
February 22, 2006
6:30 PM—Room 206

2.21.06 New York Post February 20, 2006
opinion: City Should Gain Control Over "Bicycling Nihilists"

2.17.06 New York Times February 16, 2006
city rebuffed in trying to bar mass bike rides
"The judge said the city had wrongly argued that the Critical Mass rides were a form of parade or procession that required a permit because the riders 'travel en masse.' Following the city's reasoning, the judge wrote, 'New Yorkers commuting over the Brooklyn Bridge on bicycles during a transit strike could be considered as"'bicycling en masse."' Such a restriction, he said, raised constitutional concerns."
—by Jim Dwyer

More press:
judge: city can't stop critical mass ride
by Sarah Ferguson, Village Voice
critical mass victory—judge: bike rides not parades [PDF]
by Amy Zimmer, Free Metro
city denied request for injunction to stop critical mass bike rides
New York 1
critical mass wins court battle
WNYC
judge tells city, critical mass can go on
Gothamist
court says city can't stop cyclists
Columbia Spectator

—Attorneys for Time's Up! submitted this letter to DA Morgenthau asking that his Office decline to prosecute the remaining cases involving Critical Mass bike rides and charges of parading without a permit.

2.16.06 Bicyclists Hail 1st Amendment Victory:
Another Judge Finds No Permits Necessary for Critical Mass

—Judge Stallman's decision & order

—FreeWheels press release, February 15

FreeWheels celebrates Time's-Up!'s victory over the City of New York's attempt to receive a preliminary injunction against Time's-Up!   On February 15, 2006 New York State Supreme Court Judge Micheal D. Stallman issued a 24 page Decision and Order, soundly rejecting the City's arguments the Critical Mass bicycle rides require permits.

Gideon Oliver, one of the attorney's in the Time's-Up! lawsuit who has also represented hundreds of those arrested for violating the permit law in criminal cases, has requested that the District Attorney's office drop all charges of Parading Without a Permit now pending against people being prosecuted for riding their bikes.

On January 9, 2006, Criminal Court Judge Gerald Harris dismissed pending parading charges declaring the whole parade permitting scheme is "hopelessly overbroad" and "constitutes a burden on free expression that is more than the First Amendment can bear."

"This is the City's third strike in trying to obtain injunctions against Critical Mass rides," said Oliver. "I hope Judge Stallman's considered opinion will help encourage the Mayor and the Police Department to rethink their aggressive stance toward policing these peaceful events."

Time's-Up! press conference: —11:30 AM —Thursday, February 16 —49 E. Houston St., Manhattan (between Mott & Mulberry)

2.14.06 A Valentine from FreeWheels

Download our latest flyer. Print a bunch out and deliver them to your truest love, and anyone else thirsty for justice.

 2.13.06 How the NYPD used to roll:

Begun by Teddy Roosevelt in 1895 to apprehend speeding horse-drawn carriages, the 29-member bike squad, known as the "Scorcher Squad," made 1,366 arrests in their first year.

Rock-Paper-Scissors, anyone?

[This photo courtesy of the nypd]

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2.5.06 FreeWheels Appeals

The City is appealing Judge Harris' January decision that NYC's Parade Permitting Law is unconstitutional. In addition, members of Freewheels are appealing their January conviction for Disorderly Conduct and Parading without a Permit. These appeals could potentially result in a binding decision that would prevent the City from enforcing the parade permitting law against cyclists and seriously impair their ability to harass bike riders.

The problem: these appeals will cost thousands of dollars (around $15,000 total), and we need your help to raise it. To donate money to Freewheels, click here. To find out how to enlist the help of your family and friends, click here. To volunteer to help us out with fundraising, email fundraise@bicycledefensefund.org. Thanks for your support!

1.28.06 Police Officer Injured During Critical Mass Crackdown
"Freewheels encourages the City to take this opportunity to rethink their policy and return to a supportive style of policing that will make our streets safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and police alike."
—from Freewheels Press Release

Village Voice: Critical Chaos: Cops Hurt, 17 Arrested at Mass Ride

1.26.06 A Win and a Loss in Trial Court

Members of Freewheels intend to appeal the "guilty" verdict for parading without a permit and disorderly conduct delivered to seven February arrestees on Thursday, January 19, 2006. To support us financially, click here. To volunteer to work with us, email us at freewheels@bicycledefensefund.org.

Village Voice: Critical Mass Bike Trials: Is it Worth it?
NY1: City's Parade Law Ruled Unconstitutional
Newsday: Critical Mass Bicyclists Prevail in Permit Case
Village Voice: Bikers Win One: Judge Nixes City Law on Parade Permits
Download the FreeWheels press release.

FreeWheels mailed copies of Still We Ride: The Movie to each and every New York City Council Member. 

Tell your City Councilmember and the Mayor (Mike "Ride your bike to work!" Bloomberg) that we demand accountability from our elected officials!  Demand that they ease up, stop arresting cyclists, and start accounting for their behavior over the course of the past year and change. Find the City Council Representative for your district by clicking here:  www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/index.cfm

• 6 Reasonable Demands
• Talking Points
• Sample Letter

See the press coverage of the initial launch of our ongoing letter-writing campaign for conversation ideas.

And check out the World Car Free Network’s international campaign in support of New York City's Critical Mass.

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