Info Submitted by Caroline:

Olaf, Madeline, Spike, and I were the WCN legal observer team for the June ride.

I would say that there were about 250-300 riders.

Before the ride, freewheels was distributing free bells and lights in the square. We also had fliers for the cops outlining the rules of the road as they apply to cyclists. I passed them out to scooter cops and sargeants in unmarked suv's in the square. I would guess that there had to have been around 100 tickets issued - everything from no lights/bell to blocking an intersection.

The cops starting giving tickets right outside of the square. the ride got off to a late start because of an incident involving Austin on park ave south and 17th. he was shooting video of some undercovers and they grabbed him and his camera. In fact they turned his camera off. they made him show them his id. he was then let go.

There were also reports of at least one undercover on the ride. Both scooters and unmarked squad cars and suv's were deployed. there were as many cops as usual out policing the ride. There was talk about the fact that it seems as though the cops were trying to give legitemate tickets this month. ie., not for bogus charges like not staying to the right.

Information submitted by Olaf:

I only got the names of four ticketees - seemed like there were plenty more. I had the impression the cops were really trying to ticket people for things they technically had done.

Ellis Kim - driving vehicle on wrong side of road. Greenwich and W 10th St. Mike Jones - running a red light. 6th Avenue and 20th. Crisse Denola - taking both lanes email: liveembers@aol.com Steven Spinato - taking both lanes email: sspinato@nyit.edu

Info Submitted by Madeline:

I observed the following people being given tickets:

Union Square East and 16th St, 8:00 pm (right after the group left Union Square North) Mikaila Dougherty (from Florida) Chris Kilbourn Bened Mercado All appeared to be getting tickets for rolling through the red light on the side of the park.

18th Street & Avenue C, 9:45 pm David Danziger - For not having light on bike. David had a light, but the police said it wasn't properly attached to the bike at the point when they stopped him (hard to say, since they stopped him from behind). 5 scooter cops stopped for this one young man.

At about 9:10 pm I also saw Caroline Samponaro, another legal observer, and a woman she was with get tickets for not having lights.

I lost the riders from about 8:15 pm to 9:55 pm, but in the time when I was with the group, didn't see or hear reports of anyone getting tickets for where they were riding on the road, which is a step forward. I saw police still using the tactic of blocking off entire streets to "herd" the bicyclists or force them to scatter., and incidentally bringing car traffic to a standstill. (This happened on Broadway level with Astor Place and again at Avenue C and 18th Street, near Stuyvesant Town.)