Call for Cyclists Arrested or Harassed During and Since the RNC

Our Legal Newswire has more recent updates
about the city’s campaign against Critical Mass and
bicyclists using public space.

UPDATE 04/12/2005:

A page one story in today’s New York Times reveals that
the D.A.’s office

doctored videotaped evidence to prosecute a bicyclist who
was arrested during the August 2004 Critical Mass. They edited
out footage which shows that the bicyclist is innocent.

• The Times website has online video showing which parts were edited out.

UPDATE 09/17/2004:

All bikes released as of Friday, regardless of how you pleaded.
Brooklyn Greenpoint bike facility is open from 8am-2:30pm weekdays.
Check the bike over throughly before you take your bike back. DA’s
office open from 9am-5pm weekdays. Read more details in our
Media Advisory
(Word Format)

Forms of Interest:

• RNC/BNC Legal Intake Form
  (PDF Format)
• Claimant’s Request for a District Attorney’s Release(PDF Format) —
  You can file this yourself at 100 Centre Street, but if you want
  TIME’S UP! to take it in for you, this form must be notarized!

Call For Cyclists (August 2004)

Over the week and a half surrounding the Republican National
Convention, the NYPD targeted cyclists and made nearly 400 bike
arrests. They confiscated even more bikes, in some cases cutting
locks and taking bikes that were on the same street where they
made their mass arrests. On Sunday, August 29th, without prior
notification and without providing justification, the NYPD instituted
a “bike-frozen zone” between 34th St. and 59th St., west of 6th
Avenue, allowing motorized transport, but forbidding cyclists from
riding.

Confiscated bikes are being held in a facility in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and many of them are not scheduled to be
released until our court dates, in some cases months from now.

With the blessing of the over-taxed volunteer legal advisors from
the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), a group of concerned
NYC cyclists, many of whom were arrested and whose bikes are still in
bike jail, are collecting names, contact details, arrest details, and
court information from those who spent time in jail, or who had their
bikes taken away.

We have the opportunity to work with a prominent civil liberties
attorney, Norman Seigel, who will request that the Manhattan District
Attorney’s office release the bikes ahead of our court dates in order
to minimize the inconvenience and monetary damages incurred by not
having access to our bicycles. We need to have a comprehensive list
of arrestees in order for him to make a stronger case.

• If you were arrested, were a witness to bike arrests, or witnessed
  the bike frozen zone, please provide as much detail as you can,
  including Name, Email and Phone Number, Arrest Date, Location, and
  Time, Charges (if you had a Disorderly Conduct, please specify the
  legal code, i.e. PL 240.20 (5) etc.), and Court Date or court
  decision to: Anne or call 212.534.2346
• If you have video footage or still photos that document bike
  arrests, please contact Mike Green or call 917.584.9708
• If you are a lawyer and want to help at any point in the process,
  please contact Matthew Roth or call 917.825.3027

For the next few weeks, we’ll be hosting informal meetings with
legal advisers and lawyers, Tuesdays at 6:30 pm at the
TIME’S UP! Space, 49 E. Houston Street (btw. Mott/Mulberry).
If you were arrested while riding a bike, please contact us and please
come to the meetings.

You can mail or drop off the RNC/BNC Legal Intake Form (PDF Format)

to:

Attn: RNC/BNC Intake

TIME’S UP!

49 East Houston Street

New York, NY 10012-2724

For those who were arrested, we have a limited supply of bicycles
to loan at no charge.

More Info:

• National Lawyers Guild RNC MASS DEFENSE, New York City Chapter
• National Lawyers Guild RNC Legal Advisory
  (Word Format)
• People’s Law Collective
• Bike Legal FAQ

TIME’S UP! is an all-volunteer group that promotes non-polluting
transportation and the environment.