The NYPD’s new policy of criminally charging cyclists and e-bike riders for low-level infractions is an “obscene” ramp-up of enforcement, and it’s unclear if the police can even undertake such criminalization without a law change, according to advocates and legal experts.
The shift that Streetsblog exposed on Friday undoes a decade of efforts by lawmakers, safe streets activists and criminal justice reformers to decriminalize enforcement against cyclists, which disproportionately targeted people of color.
The sharp turnaround under Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch threatens to drag thousands of New Yorkers into the crosshairs of immigration enforcement officers, while also jeopardizing workers’ jobs or shelter beds because they have to show up to a court date for a minor violation…