NYPD VEHICLES and OTHER CARS OUT OF BIKE LANES

For Immediate Release

NYPD VEHICLES and OTHER CARS OUT OF BIKE LANES

Benjamin Shepard – 917 586 7952

A bike ride through Brooklyn to get police vehicles out of bike lanes

What: Bike ride, direct action, and educational outreach

Where: Dekalb and South Portland, Brooklyn When: Monday, November 2nd, 9:40 a.m.

Who: The Public Space Party November 2nd, 2015 (New York, NY): Carrying air horns and wearing colorful clothes, cyclists will ride with signs declaring, “Warning: Cop in Bike Lane!”, give police in bike lanes tickets, and call 311 reporting bike lanes illegally blocked by NYPD vehicles, including outside of NYPD precincts.

The City of New York recently celebrated installation of more than 1,000 miles of bike lanes, but they are often impeded by motor vehicles, all too often police vehicles, flaunting the law. 

According to the Rules of the City of New York, it is clearly illegal to park in a bike lane: RCNY § 4-08 (e)(9) It is against the law to park, stand or stop within or otherwise obstruct bike lanes. Yet, police vehicles are parked in bike lanes from Schermerhorn Street or Jay Street, Coney Island to Sixth Ave. On Schermerhorn Street, the police went as far as painting their own parking spots on the bike lane.

On Monday, the Public Space Party (PSP) will draw attention to this illegal and dangerous practice by the NYPD, and how it relates to the greater culture of lawlessness in the City’s police department. PSP will also distribute NYC’s “Bike Lane Parking” flier to vehicles parked in bike lanes and cyclists alike.

“Impunity is a key ingredient in the police violence and malfeasance being outed now in social media,” notes activist Owen Crowley, of the Public Space Party. “This is exercised in many different ways that I witness almost daily. Police cars running red lights without cause, personal cars parked illegally and encroaching into the street in front of police stations, police cars parked or standing in bike lanes. This creates hazards for pedestrians, cyclists and civilian drivers. On top of that, it is an exercise that reinforces a culture in which police are above the law.”

“With climate change looming, New York needs to move toward sustainability,” notes Benjamin Shepard, of Public Space Party. “A simple first step is safe, non-polluting transportation. Cars in bike lanes create dangerous conditions on the streets, discouraging cycling. Getting cars out of bike lanes is an essential first step in Vision Zero policing.”

Police Car parked on Schermerhorn street bike lane. 

Copy of tickets double parked cars will receive.