Critical Mass
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Friday’s Headlines: A ‘Critical’ Moment Edition
Cyclists will protest against the NYPD's bike crackdown with a Critical Mass ride to City Hall on Friday. Plus more news.
May 30, 2025
Opinion: The Fraught History of Cops and Bikes
It's a fine idea to get NYPD officers out of their SUV cruisers, onto bikes and into the community — but recent events show that our militarized police have used bikes as an instrument of oppression.
July 19, 2020
‘It’s Not Your Bike Anymore’: Police Swipe Bikes at Black Lives Matter March
Cops aggressively swiped protestors’ and reporters’ bikes during a peaceful protest Wednesday night in Brooklyn — which is illegal.
June 4, 2020
NYPD Sends Law-Abiding Vietnam Vet Cyclist to the Tombs
What is it about riding a bike that makes someone such a tempting target for police harassment?
April 4, 2012
Critical Mass Is Alive and Well at Guadalajara’s Paseo de Todos
Walking and bicycling in Guadalajara, Mexico can be dangerous in many parts of the city, but there's a movement afoot among many citizens to change that. GDL en Bici is a group of local advocates who have been organizing regular bike rides for years, and nothing is more impressive than their ride on the first Thursday of the month - the Paseo de Todos - which regularly draws up to 5,000 riders to celebrate and demand safer cycling conditions.
November 29, 2011
Records From Critical Mass Court Case Spell Out NYPD Overkill
David Goodman at the Times' City Room blog has an excellent piece up this afternoon about the resources NYPD spent to police Critical Mass bike rides in the two-year wake of the 2004 Republican National Convention. A federal lawsuit stemming from those police actions reached its conclusion this week, with the city paying out nearly $1 million in settlements to Critical Mass cyclists who claimed they were wrongfully detained during that period. Goodman got a hold of internal police records that surfaced during the case -- check out the overkill:
October 20, 2010
Judge’s Decision on NYPD Parade Rules Tinted By Windshield Perspective
A federal judge yesterday upheld NYPD rules which effectively outlaw bicycle rides with 50 or more cyclists that proceed without a permit. The case is closely associated with police crackdowns on Critical Mass but affects any group ride of sufficient size.
February 17, 2010
Cops on Scooters Trail Greenway Cyclists
May's Bike Month Critical Mass reportedly drew more participants than usual, and NYPD responded by handing out a passel of trumped-up summonses. No surprise there, but as this video (from glassbeadian via Gothamist) shows, officers on scooters went so far as to follow riders down the Hudson River Greenway.
June 4, 2009