On February 15, 2006 a State Supreme Court judge ruled highly in favor of Critical Mass,

Calling the city’s legal strategy against the ride ”highly irregular” and ”as unnecessary as it is inappropriate,” Justice Michael D. Stallman of State Supreme Court in Manhattan refused to bar an environmental group and four people from taking part in it, from gathering at Union Square Park beforehand, or from announcing the rides on the group’s Web site, as the city had requested.

The city had also asked the judge to issue an unusual civil declaration, without a trial, that the environmental group, Time’s Up, and the four individuals had ”criminal culpability” for violating laws and regulations that carried penalties of fines and imprisonment. The judge also rejected that request. (NYTIMES)

Seeing as that yesterday was another Critical Mass–and the weather was amazing–I decided to participate. I remember pre-RNC days when the police were outrageously courteous to us and practically escorted us along our route. This still happens at the Brooklyn Critical Mass, but alas, not in Manhattan. I remember one especially harrowing Friday night when police scooters were chasing people down, grabbing them by their clothes and pulling them off bikes. Yeah, fun.

So after this ruling I’d heard that things had gone better, but apparently now the police tactic is to create more commotion and jams than we would every be capable of in the first place and then ticket us for it. A friend of mine was participating in the ride for the first time and got a ticket for being to close to the shoulder. What does that mean?

My poor friend Colin, who seems to have particular luck in getting arrested (he was one of the people on trial), got arrested again for “blocking vehicular traffic.” which sounds like “Bullshit Charge” to me. And is now in jail until tonight or tomorrow. Is that legal? How about arresting all those drivers all around the city who constantly block the box? Midtown around lunchtime would be a great way to boost your earnings, officers.

And the funny thing is, as far as I observed, everybody sort of knew the score. We were all being especially calm. No crazies looking for trouble, nobody yelling, resisting, anything. And the cops were rather smug about it. I heard one scooter cop (out of a group of about 15 circled around one lonely cyclist getting a ticket) say, “One by one.”

Well, I love riding my bike in the city. I love riding in Critical Mass because you can actually ride without feeling like you’re going to die by cab or crazy truck/bus any minute. You actually have the street to yourself a little bit. It’s really neat and special. And the pedestrians are for the most part very supportive.

Anyways, I wish CM wasn’t so stressful all the time and that we could just be left alone.