Monday Linkage
Manhattan Bridge by Night. Photo by Cornershots More Buyers Thinking Small [NY Times] Creatures from the Blueish Lagoon [NY Times] Elmhurst Landmark Dispute [NY Times] A Harlem Brownstone Story [NY Times] Bummer for Church Co-op in CG [NY Times] Thin Crowds at Open Houses [NY Post] Getting Started in RE [NY Post] Booked for Biking…
Manhattan Bridge by Night. Photo by Cornershots
More Buyers Thinking Small [NY Times]
Creatures from the Blueish Lagoon [NY Times]
Elmhurst Landmark Dispute [NY Times]
A Harlem Brownstone Story [NY Times]
Bummer for Church Co-op in CG [NY Times]
Thin Crowds at Open Houses [NY Post]
Getting Started in RE [NY Post]
Booked for Biking in Bed Stuy [NY Daily News]
Prospect Heights’ Heideggerian Lifeworld [Curbed]
Retail Space at 1401 Fulton [Bed Stuy Gateway]
Hooked [Calla Lillie]
Unlike most countries, you do not have to carry ID on you at all times in the US. However, this constitutional right has been flouted more and more oftern in this post-9/11, identity-theft prone world in which we find ourselves – and with very questionable benefits. NY police are becoming as fascist as they are in France — if they don’t like your looks, they’ll stop you and demand your papers and then try to arrest you if you don’t have them. This is a blatant violation of civil rights and would never hold up in any court — in fact anyone who’s been abused in this way should sue the city and the NYPD. Unfortunately that takes money, which most of these targets don’t have, and the cops know it.
guano-
getting a summons for taking up two subway seats? what happens if you are on the large side and take up two seats? this seems ridiculous.
i know riding your bike on the sidewalk is illegal. i don’t do it and don’t condone it. i was alarmed at his alleged treatment. seems like an innocent mistake and they really ran him through the ringer. don’t they have better things to do? whether it happened to him because he is black is debatable. if it did, then that’s reprehensible.
I think he was arrested because he did not have his ID with you. If he did, he would just get a summons. There was a story a while back, where a woman was falling asleep in the train at 3AM, got woken up by the police, because she was occupying 2 seats. Since she did not have ID on her, they took her down to the station and did not release her until her name and identity was checked out at the station. This will happen to everyone, who broke any laws and do not have any IDs.
The arrest seems a bit much, they should have just issued him a summons. Everyone (should) know that riding your bike on the sidewalk is illegal. You are permitted to run on the sidewalk, it is for pedestrians, not moveing vehicles – bikes, go carts whatever. It’s surprising that some people seem alarmed at this old regulation.
i used to ride a bike everywhere in the city and i have always believed that bikes have absolutely no place on sidewalks. if they have wheels, they go on the street like other moving vehicles. yes riding in the city is dangerous, it goes with the territory. having said all that, if they’re only arresting black people for this and not whites then this is a problem.
It’s more than a bit ridiculous giving summonses to bikers for this kind of stuff. Riding a bike on the street is not what is desireable to bikers. Riding on the street is definitely better. If you see a biker riding on the sidewalk he/she probably has a good reason. Double parked cars, motorists opening doors while you’re riding on the street, narrow city streets are all hazards that can impede a cyclist….and they happen all the time. One thing I realized from having my bike stolen (at gunpoint in Bklyn) is that I’m better off on my bike when I’m clipped in than walking it. If I have no choice but to take to the sidewalk I give all the pedestrians as much space as possible while going as slow as possible (we’re talking about 3mph here). I’m not a danger and neither was this guy. Look at his bike, his dress…his intelligence and recognize that there’s a better chance he was moving along the sidewalk at a safe speed with regard for the people that were there rather than tearing down the street knocking over pedestrians. In the article it was never mentioned he was terrorizing the public or bothering anyone….no one complained about him. Look, it’s definitely a race issue. I live over in Windsor Terrace and there were some white kids (about 11-15 years old) playing basketball in the street. They moved a basketball hoop out into the street out beyond the line of parked cars and were playing literally in the middle of the street. They had no business being in the street, I’m sure the owners of the parked cars and the drivers that were driving down the street were more than a bit perturbed….but they didn’t care, they were doing something “illegal”, they were annoying the public, they had no ID. Did they go to jail……no. Of course not…white people don’t get preyed on by the police. And you know what? It would not have made a difference if the cop was black. This guy was the intersection of folks that cops love to hate: black people….and cyclists. Let’s flip this a bit and pretend it’s not a race issue. Have you ever seen a runner/jogger either tearing down a sidewalk or running in the street? Arrest that person immediately I say. It’s called a sideWALK so what they’re doing is inappropriate. Also, we all know streets are for cars so, again, what they’re doing should be illegal. This city is out of control in some respects and anyone who thinks this guy deserved to be arrested and strip searched rather than being warned because the street was crowded and he was riding in an unsafe manner is probably part of the problem with some if the attitudes out there. The next time I see your kid riding his or her tricycle on the sidewalk I’m calling 911 and getting them arrested.
I didn’t know that we are required to carry ID. However, I never leave the house without carrying ID, even if I’m going to the store around the corner. I merely tuck my drivers license in my wallet just to be safe. What if something happens to you somewhere along the way, you’re injured and unable to speak, and nobody knows who you are? Yes, riding a bike on the sidewalk is illegal and dangerous, as are the other infractions mentioned by Anon at 9:06 am. I don’t know why these regulations are not publicized more than they are. I don’t own a bike, but I’m aware of the rules anyway. If cars are double-parked and you can’t safely ride down the street, walk the bike on the sidewalk until the road opens up. The police reaction appears to have been over the top, but bikers, please exercise some common sense.
It is illegal to ride on the sidewalk and for some reason most riders don’t know this. And while we are on the subject it is also illegal to ride against traffic and when riding in traffic you are supposed to obey the traffic rules. Deliverymen are expected to wear some clothing identifying the establishment that they are delivering from. I learned all this at a recent neighborhood police meeting.