A new ruling that will require groups of 50 or more bikers to apply for parade permits is a bump in the road for many of the city’s loyal bikers.
And at Columbia, the decision could be an obstacle for more than one tradition.
The ruling from federal judge Lewis A. Kaplan stated that the New York Police Department would not be violating constitutional rights, particularly the right to free speech and assembly, by enforcing parade regulations on these biking groups.
The amended parade rules say that the NYPD can ticket or arrest any group of 50 cyclists that does not have a specific parade permit.
At Columbia, the ruling could affect the History of the City of New York class’ annual midnight bike tour of the city, along with the Columbia Outdoor Biking Orientation Program, which takes new first-year students on a four-day biking trip that ends in Morningside Heights.
Javier Plasencia, CC ’11 and this year’s COBOP coordinator, said he understands the ruling from the city’s perspective, but intends to bike as a group through the city in August regardless. He said he hadn’t thought too much about the ruling because it is so recent, but added that one option he could consider would be to have the group of around 60 students split into two. This would hinder a core tradition of the trip, though, he said.
“One of the best experiences is riding in as one large group through the gates on 116th, so I’m going to try to keep it that way,” he said.
Thai Jones, a Ph.D. candidate in U.S. history and head teaching assistant of professor Kenneth Jackson’s History of the City of New York, the largest class Columbia offers, organized the biking trip last semester, and rides into Morningside Heights from Brooklyn almost every day.
“There is no doubt that the city has followed a steadily more aggressive policy of requiring special permits for more and more varieties of public event,” he said in an email. “Mayor Bloomberg and his predecessors believe that it is more important to ensure a quiet, tourist-friendly metropolis than it is to allow the sometimes-unruly activities required by a vigorous free speech.”
Jackson said in an email that the new ruling will affect his annual bike ride, and for that reason he is among the plaintiffs in the case.
Jones though said that the ruling may not directly impact the History ride, since Jackson has often brought along assistant mayors and commissioners, and occasionally, police escorts. The trip is not really a protest, he said, adding that in past years they have gone through the process of getting a permit.
In 2004, 5,000 bikers with the biking group Critical Mass rode past Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention, protesting President George W. Bush.
One hundred of those bikers were arrested, and the NYPD has since amended its parade rules to rein in disorderly conduct from biking groups.
Wiley Norvell, communications director at Transportation Alternatives, said the ruling was diametrically opposed to the city’s goal of getting more commuters on bikes.
“We simply don’t think these sorts of events should be treated like parades,” he said. “No one would say a group of 50 motor vehicles on their way to the same destination in the city would be a parade, even though their footprint is substantially larger.”
Norvell said he doubts the ruling will be applied to all biking trips, but New Yorkers should be concerned, nonetheless. “You won’t know if your ride is the ride that gets targeted.”
Sari Ancel, SEAS ’10 and last year’s COBOP coordinator, said she imagines the ruling could ease tensions between bikers and motorists.
“I don’t think it’s a malicious rule, but it will be kind of annoying for a group like ours,” she said.
Daniel Weinstein, CC ’12 and a biker, said he hadn’t heard of the ruling yet, but added that he was not a fan.
“I think it’s going to be way harder for people to organize group rides, and it’s a shame because it’s a lot of fun in this city.”
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