two wheeled societal menaces

missed this on thurs: the nypd is again pushing for limits to the constitution.

since you probably missed this as well, here's the entire nytimes article of 104 words:

"After recent court rulings found the Police Department’s parade regulations too vague, the department is moving to require parade permits for groups of 10 or more bicyclists or pedestrians who plan to travel more than two city blocks without complying with traffic laws. It is also pushing to require permits for groups of 30 or more bicyclists or pedestrians who obey traffic laws. The new rules are expected to be unveiled in a public notice today. The department will discuss them at a hearing on Nov. 27. Norman Siegel, a lawyer whose clients include bicyclists, said the new rules “raise serious civil liberties issues."

of course, this rule would likely be used against critical mass and thier monthly rides, which have long been the target of nypd abuse (and all-time record mass arrests during the repug convention in 2004).

in a comment on streetsblog, J:Lai notes:

The proposed restrictions are a “back pocket” regulation which, I predict, will be enforced very selectively by the police dept...I think it is unlikely that it will be enforced to require school teachers to get parade permits when taking their classes outside, but very likely that it will be used to require groups like critical mass, or other forms of “protest” that the NYPD find politically objectionable, to go through the permit process or risk arrest.

what i did catch on thursday was mnn's own i.t. whiz Jacob Redding on Channel 2 News, getting assaulted by one Lt. Daniel Albano during a Critical mass ride in august. Albano, who is a lawyer (!) knocks Jacobs video camera out of his hand as he is being stopped for the dangerous crime of riding his bicycle.

the Channel 2 News report by Eileen Clancy not only raises questions about police harrasment of a peaceful demonstration by cooperative citizens, but also explores

"a troubling pattern of behavior: Cops threatening citizens with arrest and confiscating cameras, especially over the last eight months."

see the report and read a transcript of the report at onNYturf.com.

oh, and the public hearing is scheduled to be all-but invisible: november 27th is the day after thanksgiving.