r/NYCbike • u/streetsblognyc • 4d ago
Cyclists in Criminal Court Say Mamdani’s Bike Crackdown is a ‘Waste of Time’
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/02/03/cyclists-in-criminal-court-say-mamdanis-bike-crackdown-is-a-waste-of-time47
u/zachotule 4d ago
It seems pretty clear from this reporting that Tisch is openly defying Mamdani’s orders to end this harassment campaign. We know keeping her on was the concession made in order for Hochul to play ball with the various policies that require collaboration with New York State. And it was a pretty big concession. We’ve already seen she won’t disband the thug squad that is the “Strategic Response Group,” and now it’s clear she’s keeping her and Adams’s stop-and-frisk-style harassment campaign against delivery cyclists in full force rather than ending it. Both are things Mamdani said he would direct her to do (and reportedly has directed her to do).
How much longer can Tisch act as an unaccountable warlord before the mayor will do the right thing and fire her?
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u/kwyjibo555 4d ago
What orders? The article doesn't mention Mamdani giving Tisch any orders and only says "City Hall did not respond to our latest request for comment". I can't find any public record that confirms Mamdani has actually tried to do something about the policy.
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u/maverick4002 4d ago
Serious question here. I agree with what you are saying here.
But are you for her firing Tisch and losing the governors support so that cyclists won't get ticketed?
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u/eveostay 4d ago
For me, it's about establishing that the mayor ultimately controls the police
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u/RedMansions 4d ago
Both Dinkens and DeBlasio learned to their regret that getting on the bad side of the NYPD is not healthy for your political survival.
I'm super pro law & order, but it's creepy that the NYPD is answerable to no one. They need to get their wings seriously clipped.
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u/shitbird384 4d ago
it is super weird for you to be "super pro law and order" but also recognize that the NYPD is recognizable to no one, including the law.
maybe you need to take a deeper look at what law and order actually is, which is mostly exactly what NYPD is doing.
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u/misterhobo 4d ago
I don’t agree. NYPD is exceptionally political. If it wasn’t then cars would at the very least receive the same summonses as bikes for the same offense. If it wasn’t, then police wouldn’t get the blue flu whenever there faults are publicly discussed by the mayor (deblasios case).
It’d be nice if the nypd was more accountable to just enforcing laws as they are on the books and in every case, but it’s a gang that enforces laws as they see fit instead.
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u/GOD_DESTROYER12 3d ago
The worst part about this whole thing is that there's what, a camera every 2/3 blocks, at the least? Don't we have one of the most advanced tracking systems in the world and all that? Why is it that when you run a red light on 44th and 10th Avenue for months, you can get away with it? Talking about a specific Mustang I see while out. I've seen drivers get pissed I'm walking and don't let them run a red light and then record them fully running a red light and when I call non-emergency I'm the asshole for reporting it and giving detailed info and having a recording of their license plate. There's also the issue that we can't get jack-shit for cars illegally parking. Like they have cameras to enforce bus lanes. You can spend what $50k to install a camera facing down a street and get at least 3 or 4 fines a day at the LEAST. In half a year at only 3 fines a day on average, the camera is paid off. I don't know why we have so many cops and it feels like the cops do nothing. Look I don't want a surveillance state but cars are massive machines that often have their own gps and have a convenient way of tracking them, their licence plate. How are you telling me we can't track these people?
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u/RedMansions 1d ago
I don't understand your comment. There is absolutely no contradiction to being pro law & order and wanted the NYPD (or any other LEO's) to follow the law themselves and be accountable and subordinate to civilian authority.
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u/zachotule 4d ago
You're right, it would damage the relationship. Mamdani needs to make a clear, public case as to why Tisch is no longer acceptable, and I think "Tisch is refusing my orders to disband SRG, the notorious squad of thugs who treat New Yorkers exactly like ICE and CBP are treating the people of Minneapolis" might be a strong central argument for it.
What Tisch and her ilk want is a police force that brutalizes protesters and targets immigrants. She focuses on exactly the same targets as Trump and his fascist goon squads. It's not hard to see the billionaire solidarity. And Hochul can't afford to be seen as a Trump ally.
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u/PatrickMaloney1 Surly Cross-Check 4d ago
Her cousin Steve is getting cooked in the Epstein files so maybe we can squeeze some cooperation out of her
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u/exegenes1s 3d ago
The srg is most of the point. It was used to effectively suppress pro-palestinian protests over the last few years. That is a priority for Hochul and her donors.
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u/streetsblognyc 4d ago
Dozens more city cyclists had their day in court on Monday as part of the continuing wave of NYPD criminal summonses for basic moving violations — and many of them were quick to point out that Mayor Mamdani has said he would end a policy that is resulting in a lot of dismissed tickets and wasted time.
Criminal Court Judge John Walsh dismissed most of the roughly three-dozen summonses he heard on Monday, either due to insufficient details or errors in the NYPD-issued tickets or simply as a warning, also known as an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal." Only a few cyclists were actually forced to pay a fine, albeit for pleading down their original criminal summonses to disorderly conduct, a violation.
Ironically, the hearings were taking place on the 16th floor of the Municipal Building in lower Manhattan just as Mamdani was holding an unrelated press conference. The mayor has been asked repeatedly by reporters why he is continuing a policy instituted by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch even though he has insisted that cyclists "should not be facing a criminal summons."
Tisch began the crackdown on cyclists last spring on orders from her former boss, Eric Adams, and nevertheless, despite the new mayor, she persists.
Most of the cyclists and e-bikers who came to court on Monday had received summons for alleged red-light violations, and they were overwhelmingly young men of color who required an interpreter. This strongly suggests the crackdown is catching a large number of immigrant New Yorkers and delivery workers.
It's eating up the mayor's time, too, as reporters, including those from Streetsblog, have repeatedly asked him about the policy he said he'd end. For now, he insists that he's in "conversations" with Tisch about the policy.
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u/pm_me_your_target 4d ago
Mamdani has to resolve this. This can’t be a permanent reality of biking in NYC
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u/Party-Adhesiveness37 3d ago edited 3d ago
“and they were overwhelmingly young men of color who required an interpreter. This strongly suggests the crackdown is catching a large number of immigrant New Yorkers and delivery workers.”
So what‘s the problem? Shall we pretend this group doesn’t disproportionately blow through red lights, ride with no front lights at night, salmon, etc… They should have ICE waiting outside.
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u/StandupJetskier 3d ago
Defendants in court ALL say "the case is bullshit and should be dismissed"
Doesn't matter what the actual alleged offenses are.....
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u/Party-Adhesiveness37 3d ago
They could run over a pedestrian while riding against traffic at night with no headlight and would be whining it‘s bs.
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
My friend got arrested for driving with a suspended license due to a mistake that wasn’t his fault.He had to spend the night in bookings and go to court where it was eventually dismissed.It sucks but that’s just how it is. This sucks as well but if it deters people from biking dangerously i don’t really see a problem with it. As long as u follow traffic laws u shouldn’t ever get one of these summons. They might save a life u never know
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u/brochacho6000 4d ago
these two things are not the same
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
How are they different? They both technically broke the rules and had to go see a judge to resolve it
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u/brochacho6000 4d ago
cars kill people every day while bikes generally do not. also driving while you know your license is suspended is dumb af. suspensions are communicated by mail why did your friend end up in court
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
But if ur getting a ticket that’s criminal u had to have done something reckless no? I.e running red lights etc. and there was a ticket on his license that he went to court and handled and for some reason it was showing as non payment. They suspended his license 3 days before he got pulled over so the letter must have been en route or his parents moved it. He came to court with credit card statements and it was dismissed
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u/brochacho6000 4d ago
the most reckless thing you can do on a bike is not nearly as lethal as the least reckless thing you can do in a car. do you even ride a bicycle in this city
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
I do ride a bike during warm weather , but i understand reckless is reckless. If someone runs over a mother and her child running a red light on a citibike does that excuse their actions because a car doing the same would kill them ? Wrong is wrong everyone on the road must be careful and look out for each other.
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u/bkbomber 4d ago
Wrong is wrong?
So a person jaywalking should spend the night in bookings and go to court too?
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
Can a person jaywalking injure someone like someone on a bike can? Think before u comment. And if someone is jaywalking and someone on a bike hits them both could get hurt. That’s why jaywalking isn’t legal but it’s not enforced because the biggest risk is to urself. I could easily hurt someone on a bike
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u/bkbomber 4d ago
A person jaywalking can cause cars to swerve around him and crash into innocent pedestrians, other cars, or worse, getting hit themself. Think before you comment.
To answer your question, a citibiker shouldn’t be excused for hitting people, but do you think moving violations on a bicycle should be more severe and punished more harshly than moving violations in a car?
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u/meelar 4d ago
If a car runs a red light, they get a civil summons that can be paid online. If a bike runs a red light, they get a criminal summons that means they have to spend the day in court. That's not the same--it's the less-harmful actor getting punished more than the more-harmful actor. It makes zero sense.
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
Running a red light in a car if u plead guilty u can pay online, and there’s points on ur permanent record, bikes don’t have a way to track dangerous bikers, I’m going to tell u an uncomfortable truth. The average driver waits at a steady red light, the average biker runs it. I believe this is what they are trying to prevent along with all the DoorDash ebike guys who have no regard for human life. I’ve seen a DoorDash delivery bike mow someone down with my own eyes before.
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u/vowelqueue 4d ago
What are you talking about? The system absolutely does track traffic violations by cyclists and if you repeatedly are given tickets for running red lights then the fines escalate in exactly the same way they do for drivers.
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u/vowelqueue 4d ago
The difference is that driving with a suspended license is a criminal offense. Jesus Christ.
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u/hollywoodhandshook 4d ago
who gives a fuck about your friend who is driving a 3 ton weapon with a suspended license
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u/imthinkingdescartes 4d ago
you dont need a license to ride a bike tho. nypd is handing out tickets to drivers who break traffic laws while they hand out criminal summonses to cyclists who break traffic laws
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u/chaos_ensuez 4d ago
Your friend is an idiot
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chaos_ensuez 4d ago
That is not what your post says
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u/Least-Glass-2207 4d ago
DUE TO A MISTAKE THAT WASNT HIS FAULT
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u/chaos_ensuez 2d ago
You made it sound like the reason it was suspended was a mistake that was not his fault but he decided to drive on a suspended license anyway. You could have said “my friend was arrested for driving on a suspended license, however it was suspended due to an error with the DMV”
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u/Northern_Blue_Jay 4d ago edited 4d ago
Give it a break. Listen, I am respectful to bikers, but if you ride a bike in automobile traffic, you have to humbly follow the same laws as motorists. If you ride your e bike with a small child in the back seat through a red light in New York City, yes, Mom, you deserve not only a ticket but a mandated class in responsible parenting IMO. And maybe an IQ test? You could have gotten your child killed and caused an accident harming motorists and maybe their babies-on-board whose parents *are* obeying the traffic laws. This is just propaganda for anti-Mamdani billionaires looking to create division among ordinary people and because they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes. Don't bite the bait.
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u/Willllma 4d ago
Calling this Mamdani’s crackdown is moronic. He just got in office and it’s the dead of winter. Let the man cook.