DailyHeights

(PICTURED: Brooklyn Critical Mass April 05, taken by Green Biker [Bike Blog])

MATT RANSFORD reports on Stay Free Daily: “This Month in New York City Critical Mass (Friday, April 29) … This time, I could tell people were uneasy. Things started early, close to 6:30. Someone involved in the NYC bike scene who’d been arrested spoke; he said some 50-odd people this year alone have been hauled in during critical mass.”

“They wrapped up around 7 … At this point, I’d guess there were at least 50 cops in the immediate vicinity … I saw a few different groups congregating on the outskirts.”

“…it was a very small crowd. Maybe 50-75 bikers, which is literally nothing in comparison to the rides of last summer, which were easily in the high hundreds, if not thousands … We were riding to avoid the cops, who were on us after a matter of maybe a dozen blocks. There’s something not a bit creepy about looking back over your shoulder to see 20 visor-shielded police on mopeds right on your tail.”

“We took a circuitous route through the West Village … and made our way back up Hudson, only to have them come shooting out in a kind of Smokey and the Bear roadblock … I made it all the way up 8th Ave into the high teens before I backed off when I saw the vans and cruisers swarming in. I personally saw 4 people arrested and their bikes thrown in the trunks of cars.”

“…I lost track of where the ride had gone when it left Broadway. I assumed it was going east and I only had to follow the police helicopter to figure that out. … they had a helicopter following us the entire time, circling Union Square well before any rides started.”

“More people were arrested; I don’t know how many. A rumor went around that one of them was a writer for the Times. He had some credentials around his neck … I would guess, at ten to 9 o’clock, on the corner of A and 6th, there had to have been 100 cops, if not 150. All for the sake of — at that point — maybe 40 riders.”

“… Everybody dispersed. I went and drank some beer. It was sad … and mind-blowingly frustrating. It’s a time when you could literally be arrested just for riding your bike on the street.”

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It’s been more than 24 hours. Was it too subtle?

Locate your car. If the towing occurred in Prospect Heights, Park Slope or anywhere thereabouts, they probably took it to the Brooklyn Navy Yard (unless it was towed for unpaid parking tickets, in which case it may be at a lot in Red Hook). You can use this Find Towed Vehicle Search on the official New York City website (third link in the first pull-down menu) but they will tell you to confirm anyway by calling the tow pound. The number for the Brooklyn Navy Yard is 718-694-0696.

Gather your documents. Bring your drivers license and registration (and title, just to be safe). Bring a printout of the Vehicle Search results (above). Bring a checkbook, credit card or cash to pay the fine of $185. Be prepared to see one or more parking tickets on your windshield, which could make your total fine more than $400 (but you don’t have to pay the parking tickets until later).

Get to the Navy Yard. It’s open from 8 AM – 9 PM Mon-Fri; 8 AM – 4 PM Sat; and 12 PM – 8 PM Sun. A cab from Flatbush to Brooklyn will cost about $8, or you can take the 2 train from Grand Army Plaza to Hoyt St., get out and walk 2 blocks to the A, and take the A to the High St. station, and walk dow Sands St. toward the Navy Yard. It’s not as complicated as it sounds–go to HopStop to get a route plan (this is an amazing site: how could you have missed it?). The entrance to the Navy Yards is at the corner of Sands St. and Navy St.

Stand in line. Line up behind the T. Don’t get uptight if people appear to waltz right in and cut in front of you. They were probably told to go get documents out of their car and bring them back to the counter. Just be patient.

If everything is in order, the ladies at the counter will take your money, give you a green Redemption Fee Receipt (stamped “CLOSED” or “REDEEMED”). Finally, you have to be “escorted,” which means you have to get in the blue police van and be driven 200 feet to your car.

The Manhattan tow pound (212-971-0771 or 212-971-0772) is at Pier 76 at West 38th Street & 12th Avenue. The Bronx pound is at 745 East 141st Street between Bruckner Expressway & East River, and the Queens pound is under the Kosciusko Bridge. Check this site for opening and closing times.