Friday’s Headlines: A ‘Critical’ Moment Edition

It’s a “critical” moment for bike advocacy in New York City — and two-wheelers and immigrant rights groups outraged over NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s Draconian crackdown on e-bikes hope to make their voices heard on Friday with a Critical Mass protest ride from Union Square to City Hall.

“Hands off our bikes. Stop overpolicing cyclists,” reads a flier for the ride, which was organized by the New York City Bike Messengers Association.

“All NYC cyclists know that intersection will be a hot spot for cops handing out tickets the next day, not to motorists, but to us. In a place where tragedy has occurred, the potential next victims suffer the consequences of the city’s failure to keep streets safe,” the group said in a statement announcing the ride.

“Riders are being deterred from biking or simply trying to do their jobs due to fear of criminalization and deportation.”

Protest sponsors include Transportation Alternatives, the New York City Bike Messenger Association, Time’s Up!, Los Deliveristas Unidos, Ridgewood Rides, Loca-MŌ, NYC Bike + Brew, Get Women Cycling and Queer Joy Ride.

The Critical Mass demo comes the day after Tisch defended her policy of issuing criminal summonses for all e-bike violations, which Streetsblog’s reporting has shown has been accompanied by an expansive enforcement dragnet that includes non-electric cyclists as well as e-bike users.

Tisch on Thursday insisted that traffic tickets to cyclists “are virtually meaningless,” arguing that license and license plate requirements were the only effective e-bike enforcement tool besides criminal summonses. But Tisch once again failed to provide data to back up her claim that cyclists disproportionately ignore civil traffic summonses compared to drivers.

DOT, meanwhile, provided Streetsblog data that show pedestrian injuries from e-bikes are down nearly 50 percent compared to last year. Read Kevin Duggan’s story about how the data further contradicts Tisch’s justification for the crackdown. And also see Sophia Lebowitz’s piece about what Tisch’s endgame is.

Friday’s rally/ride starts at 6 p.m. at Union Square.

In other news:

• The Post ate up Tisch’s claim her crackdown “is not a war on e-bikes,” while its editorial board jumped on the Bedford Avenue bike lane hysteria bandwagon (a “near-catastrophic brush with an e-bike”) and called on the city to “rethink its bike lanes.” (The Post Editorial Board is apparently unaware that Bedford has had a bike lane for years.)
• Meanwhile, the app companies encouraging much of the city’s unsafe e-bike (and moped) behavior are pouring money into next month’s City Council races. (The City)
• Officials broke ground on the new Port Authority Bus Terminal, set to open in 2032. (Gothamist, NY Post, Daily News)
• Middle East politics finds everyone, eventually. (Daily News)
• School bus delays are down, but delays of longer than an hour are up 35 percent. (Gothamist)
• An ex-NYPD cop passed on information about traffic crash victims in exchange for bribes from a sleazy call center. (Gothamist)
• Car crashes cost Long Islanders $3 billion per year. (Newsday)
• “Andrew Cuomo would rather run a red light than answer reporters’ questions.” (Hell Gate)