Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Critical Mass

Mass Movement on Two Wheels

By Aaron Naparstek | | 14 Comments
Chris Carlsson, one of the original founders of the Critical Mass bicycling movement, writes, "a funny thing happened during the last decade of the 20th century. Paralleling events that transpired a century earlier, a social movement emerged based on the bicycle." Heck, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Carlsson’s article appeared in an academic […]

Driving Mrs. Kelly

By Aaron Naparstek | | 9 Comments
Police columnist Len Levitt of NYPD Confidential has an interesting piece on Commissioner Ray Kelly’s use of his official security detail to chauffeur his wife on personal trips at taxpayer expense. My first reaction would be a big "So what?" except for three things: State Comptroller Alan Hevesi was forced from office earlier this year […]

Time’s Almost Up on New Parade Regs

By Sarah Goodyear | | 3 Comments
After months of debate, the NYPD’s new parade regulations aimed at pedestrian and bicycle demonstrations which critics say were designed specifically to target Critical Mass rides were quietly filed on Jan. 26, and the 30-day clock has started ticking on their implementation. The new rules require a parade permit for any "procession or race which […]

Ding Dong Bruce Smolka’s Gone

By Aaron Naparstek | | 13 Comments
Newsday is reporting that NYPD Assistant Chief Bruce Smolka has filed for retirement. Smolka is reknowned for his needlessly aggressive tactics in breaking up peaceful political demonstrations, his disregard of basic civil rights and his all-too-frequent abusiveness towards women. In one infamous video he was caught kicking a female demonstrator in the head at a […]

Bloomberg on Bicycling

By Aaron Naparstek | | 24 Comments
Unlike the Mayors of Chicago, London, Paris and a growing number of other world cities, it is exceedingly rare to hear New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg say anything at all in public about bicycling. So, we thought that this was an interesting big of reporting in The Villager last week: After the opening ceremony […]
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