"Fellow NYCCers,

I’m posting a letter from Bill DiPaola, one of four TIME'S UP! members who are being sued by the City of New York. The group is facing $30,000 worth of legal fees immediately connected with this grossly unjust case.

I urge you to join me in sending a check (in any amount) to help Bill, Matthew, Leah, and Brandon protect their civil liberties -- and ours -- by stopping the city from targeting individuals whose viewpoints, looks, bike frames, or whatever it doesn’t happen to like. You or I could very well be next.

If you’re thinking “it can’t happen here,” take a look at the Times article published today about the Parks Dept.’s plan to restrict large gatherings in Central Park. Unless you think we need a grass museum more than the right to speak and assemble freely, you should be concerned about this progressive erosion of our means of dissent. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/nyregion/27park.html?

My check for $100 goes in the mail today. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Carol Wood

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Dear Friend,

As you may have heard, four TIME'S UP! volunteers -- and TIME'S UP! itself -- are being sued by the City of New York. Why are the City of New York and its Parks Department suing a group of environmentalists? For riding bikes, talking about riding bikes to the press, and encouraging other people to use this sustainable, environmentally-sound form of transportation.

If you care about your right to free speech and free assembly, you should be incredibly concerned. The suit against us has major ramifications on First Amendment activity nationwide. That's why it's so important that we win -- and to win, we need your help. TIME'S UP! is currently facing $30,000 in legal fees. Please visit

http://www.times-up.org/legal_newswire.php

today and make a donation to the TIME'S UP! Bike Legal Defense Fund.

If you haven’t ridden in the Critical Mass bike ride, you have probably heard of it. Started in San Francisco in 1992, Critical Mass rides take place monthly in almost 400 cities on six continents. New York's Critical Mass is now under attack -- and the four of us and TIME'S UP! are being singled out in that attack.

In New York, August 27, 2004, was the date of a massive police crackdown on this peaceful community event. Two days before the start of the Republic National Convention (RNC), some 5,000 cyclists gathered together to ride their bikes through the city. By the end of the night, 264 were cuffed and sent to jail -- for riding bikes. They've been charged with disorderly conduct and parading without a permit, the criminal equivalent of a speeding ticket. (To date, more than 80% of those charges have been dismissed or thrown out for lack of evidence.)

So what does this have to do with us? As Critical Mass participants, we -- and many, many others -- spoke out against the police's egregious behavior. We spoke to the press. We've been quoted in the New York Times, the BBC World News, USA Today, as well as many smaller community papers, and we've been regularly featured on network news and radio. Because we spoke out, we have been targeted. Our names and titles as listed in the lawsuit come directly from descriptions of us in the papers.

Despite police threats, we keep riding every single month. And the police keep arresting. At every Critical Mass since the RNC -- except for December -- the police have arrested bike riders. In March alone, 37 people were arrested simply for riding bikes in a group.

But cuffing cyclists wasn't enough. In September and in March, the NYPD illegally seized dozens of bikes. Many of these were chained to public property (such as parking signs and light poles) near where the arrests were taking place. The police used their most sophisticated machinery and highly"