*** 47 arrested in mass bike ride ***

New York City, NY (AP) -- 11/01/2004
More than 700 bicyclists, fresh off a victory in federal court,
hit the streets of Manhattan Friday night, with police making
47 arrests and accusing riders of a "breach of faith that posed
unacceptable safety hazards."

Police, who escorted the bicyclists from Union Square into
midtown and back, made 10 arrests at West 11th Street and
Seventh Avenue, apparently because they were beyond the
route the NYPD had established and were interfering with traffic.
The other arrests were made elsewhere along and off the
predetermined route, police said.

Critical Mass, as the monthly ride is known, has taken place the
last Friday of each month in the city since 1998, but it generated
little media or police attention until the weeks leading up to the
Republican National Convention. It has since become a flashpoint
between bicyclists who say they are just looking to promote pollution
-free transportation -- though a small percentage are vocal about their
opposition to President George W. Bush -- and City Hall and the
NYPD, which are adamant about maintaining law and order.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Pauley III denied
an injunction sought by the city to bar Friday's ride unless the
cyclists obtained a permit. The judge, however, did stress that
police may enforce the law or seize unattended bicycles that
obstruct traffic.

Police did just that, with Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne,
the department's top spokesman, noting in a statement that
"those arrested rode against oncoming traffic and stop signals
and otherwise violated the law."

The federal ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by five
riders whose bicycle were seized during a Critical Mass ride
involving 1,200 cyclists on Sept. 24. That night, police cut the
locks of 30 to 40 bicycles secured to lampposts and parking
meters at West 36th Street near Fifth Avenue and confiscated
them. The bikes had been left there by some ride participants
who dispersed on foot when the police began making arrests.

A month earlier, just before the start of the Republican National
Convention, 5,000 cyclists participated and 264 were arrested.

Before Friday's ride, Peter Lang, 23, an administrative assistant
from Staten Island, suggested that the hundreds of police officers
-- including some in helicopters -- assigned to the event were an
overreaction.

"This situation has to stop," he said. "There's bigger
things out there than a bunch of peaceful bicyclists."

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
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