Metro Briefing MANHATTAN: CITY WANTS TO LIMIT BIKE PROTEST by Colin Moynihan New York Times | 25-Mar-2005
The city is seeking to limit the monthly Critical Mass protest ride through Manhattan by requiring permits for the ride and for the use of the group's main staging area, Union Square. Critical Mass rides, held on the last Friday evening of each month, advocate nonpolluting forms of transportation. On Tuesday, city summonses were given to four Critical Mass participants, directing them to answer a city complaint seeking permits for the rides and for the use of Union Square. The complaint also seeks an order banning participants from advertising the ride. A lawyer representing Critical Mass, Norman Siegel, said it would be unconstitutional to prevent the group from advertising its activities. But a lawyer for the city, Robin Binder, said the group did not have the "right to advertise an unlawful activity."
