NYC, August 29 2004
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- robotron3k
on friday night i was a part of 5000 strong, critcal mass bike rally through downtown ny. there were 260+ arrests. they are referred to as detainees, and being housed at Pier 57 (yes an actual pier), that will stay open until the U.S. Open. on saturday there was 10,000 mothers and childrens march, a threatened attempts at by police to raid the Time's Up Headquarters, only to be quelled when the Legal Observers showed up. there was also a 400 strong protest at the starbucks i go to by my work, 2 arrests. and on Sunday, 29, i predict, may be one of people will be talking about for a long time, and the cool thing is... the conference hasn't even started.
stay tuned...
- nick0
thats insane.
what conference though?
- robotron3k0
http://www.indybay.org/uploads/c…
this was just some of the action...
- LMSS0
im on 34 and 6th {which btw, worst place to be right now in ny, transistor set me up, no love}, but no fret im jumping on a plane to vegas to see my girl soon, but really tho fuck this convention, why would bush ever think he could swing this democratic state, nazi has no reason being here...nuff said
- canuck0
interesting video footage; making the police look like a bunch of asses again. nice.
- CyBrainX0
I'm on 12th St. and 6th Ave. I saw them ride by. I've also biked with that group twice. They do it every last Friday night of the month, departing from Union Square.
Those people are as peaceful as Deadheads. The cops told a crowd of thousands to ride 2 abreast or get arrested.
It's funny. I never got arrested or handcuffed for a moving violation. It's funny how the police turned the city into martial law when Uberpig W comes to town.
- robotron3k0
here's today's calendar of events... http://www.counterconvention.org…
i'm off to union square!
wish me luck!
- twooh0
to be honest, those bikers held up so much traffic, it was absurd. peaceful perhaps, but they didn't have a permit.
i'm all for peaceful protesting, but DO NOT hold up traffic in NYC please, especially while driving.
some of the bikers actually had the nerve to block pedestrians as well.
- ctrlRmB0
Traffic Jam... boo hoo sniff. The RNC will undoubtedly mean a full week of protests and traffic jams... Suffice it to say the things being protested against are far more dire than a silly traffic jam.
Permission to protest... Sir!
- twooh0
well, you obviously don't know what the protests are like down here to the point where i can't get to point A to point B because they don't have a permit.
things to protest? they have a whole week to protest!
again, i'm all for a good peaeful cause, but when they started getting in the way of ambulances and firetrucks, they've crossed the line.
it should not take an hour to get from east to west in manhattan.
they have permission to protest. do i have permission to go where i want?
- monstress0
Critical Mass lets service vehicles pass--it isn't about being totally destructive, but definetly about being disruptive.
- lowimpakt0
some of the bikers actually had the nerve to block pedestrians as well.
twooh
(aug 29 04, 09:34)
---------------------------don't motorists clog up the roads and have the nerve to poison pedestrians everyday of the year. pity that isn't illegal.
- twooh0
does this affect or disrupt your daily routine in life? does this stop you from trying to have a nice saturday night out? does this make you cry rivers?
pity i see a huge difference
- twooh0
let me put it this way. if i stop you in the middle of the street for 5-7 minutes because i feel like i'm obliged to because of an independent protest (just me alone), you're telling me you wouldn't be annoyed?
- lowimpakt0
I see protests all the time I don't always agree with what they are protesting about but the city is the peoples parliament so you have to lighten up once in a while.
anyway, CM is legitimised in europe with the annual event known as car-free day and if you talk to any city/transport planner the days of unrestricted access to the car as a mobility solution in cities are gone.
- JamesEngage0
bigger fool you for deciding to drive on the day of a protest anyway! How often does it happen?
- twooh0
I agree. But that is why there are permits. There are plenty of legalized protests this week. I'm fine with that because at least I know what parts of town to avoid, and so do the millions of others that are in and out of this city.
Look, Saturday night is THE worst time to have a protest in both the East and West Villages of NYC.
People complained about the arrests, but again, they were stopping emergency vehicles, telling me I can't go into Washington Square Park, and telling motorists to go other ways by stopping their bikes in the middle of the street.
I mean seriously, let me through, get a permit.
- twooh0
JamesEngage,
for the last time. NO PERMIT.
- twooh0
and by the way, i wasn't driving, i was walking. it was just as hard to walk around as driving.
- monstress0
Twooh--
I understand your anger, I too have been hindered by the protests but it's the first time that has happened to me in five years in NYC. You must have met with a really aggressive part of the protest, which creates a mood of divisiveness that I wish could be avoided. I am staying out in Brooklyn as much as possible to avoid that, but then again, I am diving in to the specific protests that I cannot possibly ignore. Permit or no, inconvience or no, it's just too compelling.
- twooh0
Thanks for understanding. I just want people to know that I'm not necessarily against the protests. I'm not voting for Bush.
But I just hate taking an hour to crosstown.
I'm going to church later today, and to get there, I'll probably have to cross a mob of people, so it' just frankly annoying. I'm glad it'll be over by the end of the week.
I just feel for the Jersey commuters.
Have fun.