Eyes on the Street: NYPD Does Its Part to Fuel Brooklyn Bridge Tensions

Embarrassed by two German artists who reached the top of the Brooklyn Bridge’s west tower this summer (or was it the All-Powerful Bike Lobby?), NYPD has adopted an ingenious solution: Put a motor vehicle on it!

A reader who wishes to remain anonymous sends these observations about the new NYPD security theater at NYC’s most crowded pinch point for pedestrians and cyclists:

There were three (count ’em) NYPD vehicles (Interceptors) parked on the promenade all day [Sunday]. In each one was a cop, sitting quietly. I was wondering why they weren’t outside of their vehicle helping manage the chaos of tourists and bikes trying to squeeze past them, and then it occured to me – the three vehicles, midspan and one on each approach, were in position to watch the cables leading up to the towers in case someone else tries that “white American Flag” art stunt.

According to someone I met on the bridge who is a frequent visitor there, those posts were there when the crazed Russian tourist climbed to the top, a couple of weeks after the art stunt, but apparently the cops didn’t notice him until he was up there for a while.

I can understand how the cops might have missed something like that, as all three that I passed were busy looking down at their smartphones.

Of course the NYPD found a way to make their positions as obnoxious as possible, bringing up their enclosed motor vehicles and parking them on the promenade, causing tourists to swell around them and create yet another crowding hazard for bicyclists.

On surface streets, the Interceptors are a step up from squad cars in terms of spatial efficiency. But on a narrow, crowded pathway for walking and biking, there’s really no place for them.