Central Park Curfew

[capedbadger]

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and had a quick question. Last night my friend and I were stopped by the police at 1:15am in Central Park. We were walking on the outskirts of the park, (right behind the museum) trying to get to my apartment on the UES.

After being harassed by the police for 30 minutes about our out of state ID's (wisconsin) they gave us the "option" of either being arrested or get a summons...it felt like we were in the movie "training day" with the things the police officers were saying to us.

Anyway, has anyone been issued this summons before, what should I expect from the court date? Will there be a fine on top of the court appearance? Is there a way to avoid going to court?

Thanks for any help,
ugh*frustrated*sigh

[ZippyTheChimp]

Something seems to be missing.

When you explained why you were in the park, what did the police want you to do?

The NYC parks 1AM curfew is informally enforced, and it's usually used as a vehicle for some other situation - not just for trespassing in the park after "closing."

Enforcement is stepped up during the cold months to get homeless people into shelters.

This is an old situation. From 1989.

March 2, 1989

Officials Don't Enforce Parks Curfew

By THOMAS L. WAITE

LEAD: More than six weeks after a 1 A.M. curfew was reimposed on virtually all New York City parks, officials said they are not enforcing it systematically and have no plan to do so anytime soon.

More than six weeks after a 1 A.M. curfew was reimposed on virtually all New York City parks, officials said they are not enforcing it systematically and have no plan to do so anytime soon.

In reinstating the curfew in January, Mayor Edward I. Koch said that its primary purpose was to save the lives of homeless people who might freeze to death in the open. The curfew had been lifted in August after it provoked a violent confrontation in Tompkins Square Park.

But the Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Henry J. Stern, said this week that the curfew is neither a cold-weather measure nor a regulation aimed at the homeless. He said the purpose of the curfew is to keep people out of typically dark places where they cannot be protected and to prevent nocturnal activities, like alcohol parties, that damage the parks.

Clifford Chanin, a spokesman for the Mayor, said the park curfew helps the city's cold-weather program, which allows the removal of people from the streets when the temperature is below freezing. He said there is no conflict between the Mayor and Mr. Stern. Hardy Few in Parks

Mr. Stern said the city reimposed the curfew during the winter, when only a hardy few are in the parks at night, because it is the ''easiest'' time to enforce it.

''The reinstatement of the curfew enables us to enforce it whenever it is appropriate and whenever we have the resources to do so,'' Mr. Stern said. ''But you can't ring the bells at night and tell everyone to get out.''

He said that just as a person walking a dog after curfew would be left alone while revelers would be told to leave, the homeless are treated according to their activities. ''From sleeping on a park bench, which is a minimal intrusion, it goes step by step to establishing a tent city,'' he said. #1 Officer for 100 Parks But the weight of numbers usually prevents even selective curfew enforcement, Mr. Stern said. In devising a better policy, he said, he is racing the thermometer, as approaching warm weather encourages large numbers of curfew breakers. He said, however, he would not lift the curfew again.

There are only 150 park enforcement patrol officers for 1,500 city parks and playgrounds.

The odds are worse during curfew hours, which end at most parks a half-hour before sunrise. Only six parks officers patrol all of Manhattan at that time. And because the officers work in teams of two, only three places can be patrolled at one time.

Their primary assignment is to catch graffiti artists, said William F. Dalton, the Parks Department's chief of citywide services, which includes the park enforcement patrol.

Sgt. John Clifford, a police spokesman, said officers enforce the curfew if they notice violators during patrols, but he said officers are assigned full-time to only a few parks. Social Workers in Park

As an experiment in January, the six late-night parks officers in Manhattan conducted sweeps of 10 of the borough's 182 parks and playgrounds after curfew. Their vehicles were followed by vans carrying social workers from the city's Human Resources Administration, who offered coffee and a lift to a city shelter.

Mr. Dalton said only 3 of the 43 homeless people they found agreed to go to a shelter. Another 20 left the parks voluntarily.

The homeless population in the parks, estimated in the thousands in the summer, shrinks into the hundreds in the winter. Diane Sonde, director of Project Reachout, a private, city-financed program that helps people living in Central Park, said at least 200 remain there in the winter. 'Sweeps Are Red Herrings'

So far, this winter has claimed one victim in a city park. In December Edmund Rutter died on a bench in Tompkins Square Park, which was exempted from the curfew at the request of the local community board.

''There is no practical way of clearing people out of the parks until they are offered someplace decent to go,'' said Robert M. Hayes, counsel for the Coalition for the Homeless. ''All these pronouncements about sweeps are red herrings.''

Random checks of the eight Manhattan parks on recent nights found few people braving the cold.

In Battery Park on a recent morning, Ron Stone, who said he was homeless, sought protection from the wind in a gunport in the wall of Castle Clinton. He said he had been using the spot for a couple of years and had never been ordered out by the police or parks officers, though they had often offered to take him to a shelter.

It was 2:50 A.M. Mr. Stone, 45 years old, had a blanket, a green stocking hat and a quart of Budweiser. The gunport faced away from the harbor and the wind.

''One hole is just like another,'' he said, ''but this one seems to be the warmest.''

* Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

[capedbadger]

That is what I asked the cops. I explained the situation, and why and where we were trying to go. I told them that I was unaware of the curfew and was sorry.

I truly feel that when they saw our out of state ID's they wanted to ticket us. they kept telling us that they would/could arrest us. In which we just kept saying sorry, and did not know, and where just trying to get home... They even called back up, and had us at various times put our hands on the hood of their car while they were "discussing what should be done"

[lofter1]

Curious:

Are we talking about two guys who were stopped by the police?

Is there a racial difference between the two cops and the two people who were stopped?

[capedbadger]

My friend and I are both white and in our mid 20's. The first cops that stopped us were what seemed like an "old timer" and a rookie.

The way they treated us is just so frustrating. If we would have been doing something wrong, I could understand them stopping us, however we were just simply walking and having a conversation.

When they flashed the lights on us, i immediately walked over to the officers... They instantly started drilling us with ridiculous questions, questioning our intelligence, and egging us on to make the minor situation a larger one.

Now I have to take a day off of work to go before a judge and explain to him that myself and a friend were WALKING IN A PARK!!??!!

[Capn_Birdseye]

With a name like capedbadger are you sure you weren't up to something? I mean two guys in a lonely park at that time of the morning ......

Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying anything untoward, but if you're a cop .....

[ZippyTheChimp]

Ask Fabrizio. He's the badger expert.

[capedbadger]

We went to a concert at the Museum of Natural History... had a couple beers (I told the officer when he asked) its not like we were running around, giving each other piggy back rides, or rolling in the grass. We simply decided to walk home. If they thought something was suspicious, I understand them stopping us and asking if everything was cool, and what we were up too.

But once we explained the situation, and that we were simply returning from the museum and walking to my apartment on the UES, I would think they would say "enjoy your evening and be safe"...

[MidtownGuy]

That's clearly what should have happened. But New York City cops are 70% lousy assholes. Nasty, rude, without common sense, arrogant.

I will never forget last 4th of July when a nasty pig snapped at my elderly mother because she had the nerve to ask a simple question. Or some months ago when friends from Venice were thrown against a wall because one was seen casting an empty beer bottle into a trash bin. Never mind my own experiences over the years.

capedbadger, they should have accepted your reasonable explanation and left you to your lives, but New York has become an authoritarian police state. After traveling in other countries and then returning here it's palpable.

[BrooklynRider]

If you went to the concert, hopefully you still have ticket stubs or a credit card bill that itemizes it. Cops that "give a choice" between arrest and a summons, seem to me, to be indeirectly asking for a pay-off not to give you either.

The only reasons I can see them for harassing you is: (1) pissing in public or (2) gay sexual activity (hetero's never seem to get ticketed or harassed for fooling around in a park.)

Only you know the whole story. The fact that they gave you "a choice" seems worth it to go to court and fight the ticket. If the laws are so ambivalent that a person responsible for enforcing them can jail you or let you go on a whim, then it seems that ticket can as easily be dismissed.

I'd also go so far to say that there is a discomforting number of NYC cops who are outright abusive to the public and are unfit to serve. We have a good percentage of cops who get on the force by virtue of family legacy and politics. Others are well-educated and perform with the highest professionalism. In my opinion, the rudest New Yorkers in the city are cops (who usually are NYC residents to begin with.)

[capedbadger]

Thanks for the reply's everyone.

The crazy thing is that we did not get a "ticket" to pay a fine...it is just a summons to go infront of the judge. On the ticket the offense is listed as Central Park Curfew

If it would have been a $60 ticket or other fine I would just pay it, and say "lesson learned" (i guess), and move on. However the summons says we must appear in court in April or else we could have a warrent out for our arrest!?!?!!?!

[BrooklynRider]

My partner got one for drinking in public. He had to go to court. The judge apologized to him for making him miss a day of work and dismissed the ticket.

[Optimus Prime]

I wonder what they would have done if you chose the arrest option? They have to have known how ridiculous their charge was. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I agree with the other advice. Have some evidence to show where you were (concert tickets, credit card bill, something like that) and where you were going (mail from your apartment) and it seems highly unlikely you'll be in any real trouble.

[Ninjahedge]

Don't challange a cop without many MANY witnesses.

They can easily give you a summons for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest with no real proof other than the other officers OK.


And while I agree that there are some bad cops out there, putting the % that high is not the right thing. There are many that are very good cops, all it takes is 1 out of 10 to ruin everyones name (they are usually the one out of ten that are the most visible in addition to being the least honorable).

[bdownbrown]

Perhaps the article on how lax the NYPD is on park curfew has lit a fire under them...

Answer the summons. In court, explain yourself and you will probably get a warning. Did you have a watch on? maybe you were unaware it was after 1am. Anyhow, you were almost out of the park by then.

You have to be careful with some police. They may have perceived some attitude, or picked something out of your appearance that caused them to be so harsh. Usually you get off with a warning.

[kapow]

I feel your pain. On the night of the 26th, just after midnight, my friend and I were walking from a show at irving plaza to the train, through union square park as it was the quickest route. Plenty of other heads were walking through as well. A cop stopped my friend (from Queens) and I (from Maine) and gave us a summons for violating the rule that the park is closed after midnight, which was in relatively small print at the bottom of a laundry list of violations, on one sign. There was also a chain which could have been put across the entrance with ease by the cops but was not. His partner also stopped another couple and processed us all at the same time at their car. The cops were both white men in their 30's, I'm white, my friend's brown, and the other couple was a black guy and hispanic girl. The other people consistently going through the park, even while we waited for roughly 1/2 hour, were white and were not bothered. Looks like I'm going to have to miss work to appear for this crap, maybe even get a lawyer. Let me know if you come up with any better ideas on how to handle the situation.

[Tom Paine]

The NYPD in Central Park must be very bored and resentful of having to work there, else why would they have suddenly begun enforcing a curfew law that even Parks Commissioner Henry Stern said (in the only public statement of parks policy--above) would only be sparingly enforced--and not against neighborhood dog walkers? I know someone who was handcuffed, told he was arrested and locked in a cell for an hour for the "crime" of walking his dog at 1:30 AM on one of the well-lit Park roads near his house, and asking a cop "Why?" when ordered to leave the Park. Sure he was dumb to question a bully with a badge, but the way they treated him was obscene and probably actionable. Once he got off (as anyone so treated likely will be by judges who don't like their time wasted, either) he thought about suing or a civilian complaint, but then realized he'd be throwing good time after bad. By the way, when he was released from the jail cell (he hadn't actually been arrested, the cops had lied in a feeble attempt to scare him), they told him to leave the CP precinct, forcing him to break the exact same law he's been "arrested" for and walk home through the park. Commissioner Kelly, your officers lose respect and you lose votes (assuming you are planning to run for Mayor) this way. Wake up and stop abusing peaceful law-abiding tax-payers this way!

[stache]

Stay out of the parks at night. You can walk your dog on the sidewalk outside of the park.

[MidtownGuy]

That would be the simple fascist reply.

Cops in this city are out of control. There has to be some more common sense in what to enforce and when. Are you also against dancing wihout a cabaret license?

[antinimby]

My take on all this is: there's no more, widespread serious crime in many parts of the city so cops (and the city) are now targeting minor, petty infractions such as this.

The city better be careful in not going overboard in "cleaning up" the city or else there will be very little interesting left of it.

[stache]

and trust me I am not thrilled with the parks curfew. I think NYC will be like this until we have another big recession.

[MidtownGuy]

I've got something for them to do that is 800 times more useful than busting moonlight dog walkers...start ticketing people for noise, especially honking horns incessantly.
That is something that actually affects my life, listening to people literally laying on their horns, sometimes honking when the light is red anyway! Or, how about the noise created by trucks that leave their engines idling for an hour while they eat lunch in a deli. Surly that's more worthy of policing than people who are bothering nobody. I don't care if Joe Shmoe is out walking his dog past 2am, or somebody is walking through the park at night to get across town. Cops are harassing people for things that affect nobody, and ignoring things that piss everyone off. NYPD needs to start showing some common sense, and while they're at it they can improve the nasty attitudes on 80% of them.

Another thing, whatever happened to walking a beat? The only police I ever see are whizzing by in vehicles, they're never around when you actually need them.

[stache]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Police_Department_Auxiliary_Police#D uties

These are volunteer/fake cops. I know they do a lot of work in Central Park at night. They used to (maybe still) do tours of the Ramble, to make sure nobody's having sex. These are essentially people that get off on wearing a uniform and bossing other people around. I have a feeling these are the people that might be causing the altercations everyone is describing.

[Stern]

When the pope was in town a couple of weeks ago a friend and I walked across the park at about 4am because we were partying on the westside. We forgot the Pope was staying on the East Side and there was a literal throng of police vehicles and personnel where we were walking. A cop car drove by us and shined a light on us and then continued driving. We walked by a police officer with a police dog and nodded at him.

We weren't questioned at all, infact one word wasn't exchanged between us and the police. I would wager our condition was worse than yours, we were drunk, it was late, and the pope was staying nearby. There's definetly something wrong with the situation you described. Fight the summons.

[antinimby]

^ Example of how life isn't fair.

The guy that was well-behaved was harrassed by the cops while another, that actually was more deserving of being reprimanded by the police wasn't.

[NYatKNIGHT]

Handcuffed and locked in a cell for walking a dog after hours is abuse of authority, if that's all that happened. Anything beyond a ticket is worth fighting, but I'm sorry to say may be futile if it's his word and there are no witnesses.

[Tom Paine]

I've been scared out of the park at night, moderator, by the police, not the potential for danger, and that's nothing I am proud of or happy about. The fellow who says the cops should try enforcing noise laws is absolutely right. They could also stop people from speeding down Central Park South cutting across oncoming traffic at top speed and menacing pedestrians on the corner of Seventh Avenue--but that would require them to work a little harder instead of harassing sitting-duck citizens who live nearby--the very people whose presence in the park should be encouraged. BTW, I did fight the tickets (which were misdemeanors) and I did win, but the satisfaction is tempered by the knowledge that my "crime" was ridiculous and the NYPD's behavior outrageous.

[stache]

They're the volunteer cops. Does anyone know if other American cities have this program as well?

[Tom Paine]

No, they were not volunteer cops or sex "cops". They were full fledged NYPD, packing guns, sorry. I thoroughly doubt that one of my neighbors would have handcuffed me and thrown me in a cell for the crime of dog-walking.

[capedbadger]

My friend and I appeared in court, waiting in the court room for a solid 2-3 hours. We did not have a lawyer, just waited for our names to be called once they were called, this is what happened...

Judge: Do you know now that there is a park curfew in NYC?

Me: Yes your honor

Judge: Stay out of the parks after hours.

Me: Yes your honor

Judge: Dismissed

Biggest waist of time EVER for EVERYONE involved!

[lofter1]

Did the Judge address you as Mr. Badger?

[GordonGecko]

I've got something for them to do that is 800 times more useful than busting moonlight dog walkers...start ticketing people for noise, especially honking horns incessantly.

And start with the fire department, they blast through streets at all hours of the night even when they have green lights, and it's 99% sure to be a false alarm. Fire fighters are so romanticized in this city it's not even funny. Their image is of heros but they're generally cowboys that like to bully their way through traffic and enjoy knocking down every door or busting every window they get the slightest excuse for. Oh and let's not start talking about theft in buildings they enter, that would be blashphemous...

[stache]

Gordon, take a chill pill. Thanks.

[Triborough]

And you know what Gordon?
Those firefighters that you put down wouldn't care that you insulted them when they pull your sorry arse out of a burning building.

[GordonGecko]

And you know what Gordon?
Those firefighters that you put down wouldn't care that you insulted them when they pull your sorry arse out of a burning building.

So what, having an FDNY badge shouldn't be a license to do whatever you want. I call 311 with a noise complaint every time they blare their sirens past my apartment after 11pm and encourage everyone else to do the same.

[scumonkey]

:rolleyes:

[ZippyTheChimp]

A guy returns to follow-up on a six month old thread, and we're off talking about firefighters blaring their horns.

[Triborough]

Gordon have you ever spent any time with firefighters?
Have you, anyone in your family, or any friend been in any of the uniformed emergency services?

Do you even have any idea of the stats on false alarms?
Any idea how many runs there are of a company?

You say it that with most runs "it's 99% sure to be a false alarm." That is not true.

Here are the citywide fire incident stats for July 2008 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/stats/fire_cwsum_0708.pdf):
Structural Fires: 2,002
Non-Structural: 1,645
Non-Fire Emergencies: 16,448
Medical Emergencies: 19,614
Malicious False Alarms: 2,748

Here are the citywide fire incident stats for June 2008 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/stats/fire_cwsum_0608.pdf):
Structural Fires: 2,063
Non-Structural: 1,558
Non-Fire Emergencies: 17,399
Medical Emergencies: 19,023
Malicious False Alarms: 2,800

Here are the citywide fire incident stats for 2007 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/stats/fire_cwsum_cy07.pdf):
Structural Fires: 28,004
Non-Structural: 19,388
Non-Fire Emergencies: 209,943
Medical Emergencies: 207,677
Malicious False Alarms: 25,755

None of the above stats include FDNY Bureau of EMS responses.

Glossary
Structural Fires - fires that occur in structures.
Non-Structural Fires - examples are brush, rubbish or automobile fires.
Non-Fire Emergencies - utility emergencies, and other emergencies that are not fire or medical related.
Medical Emergencies - are selected life-threatening emergencies that engine companies respond to as first responders.
Malicious False Alarms - are calls that units respond to where there was no one who reported an emergency.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/479207185_4c11bd49a9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/triborough/479207185/)
The lights and sirens are on for a damn good reason!

[lofter1]

Not to encourage the lizard, but ...

GG (or is it GiGi?): How do you know that there are no cars or pedestrians up ahead of that fire truck? They just might appreciate the warning honks & sirens as the truck approaches.

And are you now the arbiter who will decide which calls to 911 / FDNY should be answered and which should be ignored?

If you do accept that responsibility then please leave your phone number here so that everyone can call you first when a potential emergency arises.

[Ninjahedge]

Not to condone his hatred for the sirens, but I can see the frustration he may be experiencing.

Hoboken is like that with cops. The firemen only use the sirens when they need to, but the cops use them when they do not want to wait for a light, or want to pull a U-turn in traffic.

I have not seen is that bad in the city, but then again, I rarely see cops driving in the city, so....


As for the firemen in the city? complaining about their sirens and some perceived wanton destruction at the scene of a fire is complaining with no real base. they don't go smashing in windows of the building next door to a fire call just because they like smashing windows.

I can see where they can be a little excessive, but it is better to be excessive and make sure the fire is out rather than over-cautious and have to come back later because there was a spot they missed.



As for the curfew/court case, although it was a PITA, it looks like it got the message across. Don't stay there after hours.

If you did not show up, they probably would have mailed you a fine or forced you to come in on more serious charges (like not coming to court! ;) ) or both. So whatever. Big waste of time, but no charges and no fines.

Count your mixed blessing. I hear they go great with roasted garlic.

[stache]

The punishment was the waste of a day in court.

[Ninjahedge]

>Ding<

Here's your prize!

*hands stache a copy of Barry Manilows "how to win it with the ladies over 60" Time-life collection*

[stache]

I will cherish it always... :p

[Tom Paine]

FDNY is great. They have a firehouse up my block and I hear them all the time but I love them. Their sirens are the sound of safety. NYPD are bullies with badges, a pack of a-holes.

[brianac]

New York Observed

Busted in the Park

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/11/02/nyregion/thecity/02bike.span.jpg Josh Haner/The New York Times

By DANIEL KRIEGER
Published: October 31, 2008

RIDING my bike through Central Park late one night during the summer, I was stopped by the police. The fresh-faced officer behind the wheel of the blue-and-white cruiser scrutinized my license and then quizzed me on my address. I told her where I lived.

“That is incorrect,” she said, reading the right answer to me before I could try again.

“Oh, that’s right!” I replied, smiling weakly. “That’s actually my parents’ address. I guess I put that one instead. Go figure.”

She stared at me, brow furrowed, and asked, “Why did you put an address that’s not your address?”

“Oh, yeah, well, because I’m not, or I wasn’t, sure how long I’d be staying at the place I’m living now. After I came back from California, my license expired, so I got a New York one, and I guess I thought I should kind of put a more, you know, lasting address and stuff.”

I fleetingly considered sharing the full story of my rather amusing interview at the Department of Motor Vehicles a few months earlier, but a glance at her stern expression made me change my mind.

She asked me to step aside while she checked to see if I was wanted for anything other than the offense she had stopped me for: trespassing. You see, the park is closed from 1 to 6 a.m., and violators of the curfew face arrest. But since there was no warrant out for me, and I didn’t appear to be breaking any other laws, not to mention the fact that I came off as genuinely clueless, she sent me on my way with only two summonses: for unlawful park entry and for disobeying signs.

“What signs was I disobeying?” I asked.

“The ones on lampposts,” she replied. “Six feet above ground level. You can find them all over the park.”

“Really?” I said.

“The judge wants to see you,” she told me. “And should you fail to appear in court on the date given, there’ll be a warrant out for your arrest.”

I’d gone into the dark woods of Central Park on the well-lighted 72nd Street Park Drive an upstanding citizen, trying to reduce my carbon footprint while getting some exercise and saving a few dollars. Next thing I knew, one of New York’s finest was threatening arrest, drawing me into the labyrinth of the city’s criminal justice system.

According to the city’s annual criminal court report, more than half a million summonses are issued in New York each year. From 2004 to 2007, the most generously bestowed pink slips went to those cited for having open containers of alcohol. Disorderly conduct came in a close second, while unlawful park entry and disobeying signs placed among the top 10, with nearly 20,000 summonses handed out yearly for each.

But there are offenses and there are offenses. And in New York, there’s no shortage of signs spelling them out — telling New Yorkers to clean up after their dogs, to go easy on the honking and, posted conspicuously in every subway car, to refrain from assaulting subway personnel — “a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.”

Though I found a “Park Closes at 1 a.m.” sign in the vicinity of most entrances of Central Park, these forest-green, Frisbee-sized disks would score embarrassingly low under the category of “eye catchingness” in a signage contest. Gecko-like, they are camouflaged in daylight, and at night under the glare from lampposts, they’re barely silhouettes, which is why almost everyone in the 20/20 community I asked about the signs had never taken note — a testament to the shortcoming of the signs that I felt quite sure the judge would be eager to hear about.

For two months I pictured my date with the judge and how I would make my case. When the day came, I bounded up the marble courthouse steps at 346 Broadway, signed in, and was sent to a room filled with crowded pews facing the judge’s chair, behind which the gold-lettered words “In God We Trust” sparkled brightly. (Now here was a sign no one could miss.)

The 100 or so unsmiling offenders represented just about every ethnicity and race — a kind of United Nations (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_nations/index.html?inline=nyt-org) of the innocent-until-proven-guilty. I wondered what their stories were.

Then in came the judge, along with an attorney and a court officer. The officer instructed all to rise when she introduced his honor and ordered us to stop talking and remove all hats in a tone reminiscent of after-school detention.

She then began her routine of calling out each offender’s name, followed by a code number and the offense itself, so that all present knew why everyone else had been summoned. The offenses cited included reckless driving, unreasonable noise, bike on sidewalk, unlawful possession of marijuana and unauthorized presence.

Finally, I heard my name. But the judge, who at that point was engrossed in some reading material, didn’t seem particularly eager to see me after all. Instead of the high-level meeting of minds I had imagined, an event for which I had donned a jacket and tie, the attorney at my side told me I was dismissed. (Was it my air of innocence or just the ho-humness of my case?)

TAKING that to mean I was free to go, I began walking toward the door, abandoning the cause of clearer signage in the interest of a quick getaway. But the lawyer summoned me back.

“Not so fast,” he said. “Your case is A.C.D.” — adjournment in contemplation of dismissal — “and if you don’t get in trouble for six months, it’ll be dropped. So be careful with those signs, O.K.?”

I said I would be careful with the signs. Now, whenever I make a late-night cross-town journey on my bike, I ride on the transverse road with all the cars whizzing past, content knowing that, dangerous though it may be, I am obeying the law of this particular land.

Daniel Krieger teaches English as a second language at Columbia University and La Guardia Community College.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/nyregion/thecity/02bike.html?ref=thecity

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