"Natalia Lincoln and Banana Guy have it just right: if any organized ride consisting of twenty or more people is deemed a gathering for which a permit must be granted in order to be lawful, then our SIG rides and many of our regular club rides are illegal...unless we apply for and are granted a permit for them.

It occurs to me we might well subject the permit granting office to requests for all our rides eveery week (under the pretext we don't know how many people may show up for them--possibly twenty or more) to the point the permit granting office is awash in the requests...until they relent; and, if they relent for one, then, by extension, they would be held to that standard obliging them to relent for all.

What's wrong with this wonderfully subversive idea--and who would think you could be subversive by strictly adhering to the requirements of a law?--is we don't really want to invest the city with the authority and cede them authority to grant (or withhold permission for) permits. Worse yet, should they turn down a request and we ride anyhow, then the ride really IS illegal.

On the other hand, it would oblige the city to devote resources (personnel and money) it really doesn't want to use in that fashion to handling our requests.

But how ""amusing"" it would be for us to bring an action against the city for withholding permission or failure to act on a request in timely fashion if it ever did. And couldn't Time's Up cite our being given a permit as precedent for itsself when it is denied one and argue their being denied one was arbitrary and capricious? (Well, probably not once the city would cite our routes out-of-town compared to Time's Up's in-town routes. On the other hand, we likely violate the same percentage of red lights as does Time's Up: 100%. So, again, if the city clamps down on them for pouring through red lights while we do so with impunity, then maybe TU does have an ""arbitrary and capricious"" or ""selective enforcement of the law"" argument.

As for selective enforcement, let me remind you the NYCC was a co-plaintiff in a 1992-93 suit against the City and its Parks Dept. for its having imposed a 15MPH speed limit on bikes in Central Park. We lost.

I once again remind my readers I've dropped out of law school not once but twice so instead of listening to me, call Rick Braun. Rick? You out there? Come in.
"

"Anthony is absolutely right. A determined bureaucracy can thwart any legitimate activity, should it so choose.

However, the problem is not the bureaucracy. The problem is Boss Bloomberg (call him that in all your postings, and get your friends to call him that) who is implicitly or explicitly directing the bureaucracy to behave as it does.

When he was running Bloomberg News, and for all I know to this very day, once you quit the Bloomberg Sweatshop you were blacklisted by the company forever. Boss Bloomberg saw to it that you could never, ever come back because you had been ""disloyal"" to his precious firm.

You wanted to take a year off and bum around Europe? You got an offer from a firm for twice as much money and fewer hours than you had to put in at Boss Bloomberg's sweatshop? Tough tiddly. You became a non-person for all eternity.

Meanwhile in many incidents now forgotten but once covered in the press, Boss Bloomberg was the source of many vulgar jokes mocking women in general (and some say his women employees, as well.)

The truth is, Boss Bloomberg is a spiteful, nasty little man who doesn't like anybody to disagree with him or reject him in any manner and who will use his considerable money, power and influence to squash you if you dare try.

Thus, for example, Boss Bloomberg's threat to end Madison Square Garden's tax break because they oppose the stadium he favors. (Whether MSG or any corporate entity including the NY Jets should have a tax break at all is another question for another day.)

The way to get rid of Boss Bloomberg's shenanigans is to work against him in the upcoming election. Work for his opponent. Contribute money to his opponent. (Can the NYCC also contribute money?) And spread the word, via the Internet, snailmail, your friends, and your co-workers. This isn't a bicycle issue. This is a basic citizenship issue. We need to get rid of a man who will destroy any constituent who does not agree with him.

Dump Boss Bloomberg.

Or as the ancient Montenegrin saying goes, ""There is nothing wrong with a colony of mice that a good cat can't cure. And there is nothing wrong with a cat that a wolf can't cure. And there is nothing wrong with a wolf that the Royal Hunting Party can't cure. And there is nothing wrong with the Royal Hunting Party that cannot be cured by a revolution of angry citizens.""

Or something like that.

Your Pal,
Etoain"