Mamdani to NYPD: Leave Cyclists Alone!
Details on some BREAKING NEWS, plus three things I think our mayor should do with the rest of his term to build on these pro-bike bona fides
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After three months spent dodging questions about the NYPD’s disproportionately harsh treatment of cyclists who commit minor traffic violations, Mayor Mamdani has finally taken a stance. And, oh boy, it’s a good one! From the Mayor’s office:
Beginning Friday, March 27, the New York City Police Department (NYPD)'s policy under the prior administration of issuing criminal summonses to e-bike riders and cyclists for low-level traffic offenses will be rescinded. Under that policy, riders could be criminally charged for minor violations such as disobeying a stop sign — forcing them to appear in criminal court, with failure to appear risking a bench warrant or arrest.
Is that hope I feel?
The policy was a disaster from the beginning. There was no hard evidence forcing cyclists who roll through stop signs waste a day of work in court would actually make anyone safer, though there was plenty of evidence the people who were maddest about bikes had the ears of former mayor Eric Adams and current NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch. And I suppose neither of these mainstream Democrats cared at all that the policy could disproportionally affect an already vulnerable population of tenuously employed delivery drivers, many of whom are immigrants with pending asylum cases, just as President Donald Trump was ramping up his exceedingly cruel deportation scheme, reportedly forcing anyone suspected of being in the country without documentation into conditions so bleak that they would voluntarily agree to be sent somewhere else.
For this reason alone, I would have been happy enough if Mamdani’s announcement ended right there. But wait, there’s more!
In tandem, the Mayor and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) will launch a robust, comprehensive safety training program for delivery workers and work with the City Council to pursue legislation to address unsafe practices by third-party delivery app companies — practices that often incentivize dangerous riding through unrealistic delivery times.
We knew the Mayor’s office believed delivery companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash needed to take more accountability for paying delivery drivers fairly and helping them get access to more bathrooms. We did not know that Mamdani and his admin believed, like I do, that these platforms should be held responsible for any reckless choices made by their time-pressured drivers.
I’ll happily take a side of worker-protection along with my healthy plate of safe streets agenda, thank you VERY much.
As you’d expect, Streetsblog has a longer read on the story! I recommend you read it and then get on your bike. Sure, it’s still less than 40 degrees outside. But c’mon! It’s sunny! Live a little … just not so hard you become one of the last cyclists the city issued a pink slip. Hold onto any latent desire to commit a minor traffic violation until March 28th! (You’ll still get a ticket, but it’ll be one you can just pay off on your phone.)
Three other pro-bike things I think Mamdani should do
Legalize the Idaho stop. Cyclists should be allowed to treat stops signs as yield signs and stop lights as stop signs. Biking is all about keeping your effort consistent to maintain momentum. It takes much longer for a cyclist to get up to speed from a full stop than a driver, which can lead to problems when a cycling is trying to get going while a driver wants to turn through their path. Legalizing the Idaho stop, already law in a lot of parts of the country where cycling is way less common than it is here, would make the activity easier on less-experienced cyclists.
Repeal the 15 mph speed limit in Central Park. Another “fuck you” to the city cycling community courtesy of Eric Adams. The blanket limit, which brings down the speed for all users within the park to the city wide speed for e-bikes, really only affects road cyclists who ride in groups smart enough to propely paceline, who would likely be trained on how to ride predictably without endangering pedestrians. I guarantee you the solo roadies in the park who blow through crosswalks and actually endanger the pearl-clutchers of the Upper West Side aren’t going fast enough to actually violate the speed limit. You can be a dickhead at any speed.
Subsidize Citi Bike memberships. Or better yet, take over the system yourself! It’d be pretty sweet to have a transportation system within the city that the mayor actually controls!
Join us next week?
As a reminder, Max Cea of Nothing Bogus and I are hosting a group ride to watch the 7 pm screening “Kiki’s Delivery Service” at the Village East Angelika next Tuesday, March 24th. We’ll gather at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn around 5:45 pm, with the goal to rollout by 6:15 so that people have enough time to buy snacks before the movie starts.
If you want to join, there are still plenty of tickets available. (I’m sitting in H4 if you want to sit near me.) If you’re signed into your Angelika account, the ticket should only cost $10.59. After the movie, we’ll ride back over the river together to grab drinks and/or food from Threes Brewing in Gowanus. If you do the whole ride with us, it’ll be about 10 miles long. And you better believe we’ll be riding at Jalopy Freaking Pace!
See you then!
Daniel, I have to say, that camera angle makes you look like a bobble-head! (A very distinguished one.)
Legalize the Idaho stop!