Streetsblog: Two Charged With Criminal Mischief for Williamsburg Bike Lane Action
by Jack Savage on December 8, 2009
Activists from Monday morning’s guerrilla bike lane striping on Bedford Avenue say two individuals were indeed given summonses for criminal mischief, contrary to media reports published today. Police haven’t yet answered inquiries from Streetsblog, but organizers of the action confirmed that two were charged.
“The police took the names of two people, but they didn’t haul anyone in. Then the cops showed up later at the bike activists’ individual houses and gave them their summonses,” says organizer Hayden Cummings.
The action brought together Hasidim and secular cyclists. One of those given a summons is a prominent member of the Hasidic community who volunteers to teach kids how to ride bikes, says Cummings.
A Critical Mass bike demonstration planned for Sunday won’t sit well with some Hasids, says one bike advocate.
“People are going to get upset, I think,” says Baruch Herzfeld, who owns a bike business under the Williamsburg Bridge. “It’s better to find common ground, resolution instead of confrontation.”
