We advocate for motorcyclists through political action.
The New York Motorcycle & Scooter Task Force works for motorcycle and scooter riders in New York. Our mission is to interact with city and state agencies and lawmakers to promote laws, regulations and policies that improve the quality of life for all motorcycle and scooter riders, and defend against actions adverse to the motorized two-wheeled community.
NYMSTF work the focus of AOL Autos article by Honey Berk
The news item Motorcyclists Claim Discrimination - New York City Group Fights Back (link opens in a new window) includes interviews with the NYSP's infamous Lt. Halvorsen - who now leads country-wide efforts to deploy motorcycle enforcement checkpoints - as well as with members of the AMA and the NYMSTF. The Mayor's office, the NYC DOT and the NYPD declined to comment. Read the article and feel free to share your thoughts on AOL's web site.
New dedicated motorcycle parking arrives in New York City!
The
NYMSTF is proud to announce the installation of New York City's first dedicated
motorcycle on-street parking since the removal of the city's very last
motorcycle parking area at South Street Seaport. On August 5th we reported
the first area at the
intersection of Christopher Street and Waverly Place in Manhattan. We are
delighted to announce the addition of another spot at the intersection of Grand
and Crosby Streets in SoHo, near our good friends at
Vespa SoHo. These
are the first
of what we anticipate to be many more parking areas designed to offer motorcyclists
safe, space-efficient parking while relieving neighboring motorists of the
anxiety associated with parking near motorcycles.
Stay tuned here for announcements of more motorcycle parking zones. We will publish a map page on this web site once the NYC DOT gets a few more of the approved zones installed.
We wish to extend our thanks to the members and constituents of Manhattan's Community Board #2 for their supportiveness. We also offer our congratulations to the area's motorcyclists who came out to support the NYMSTF's efforts. Go team!
NYMSTF executive Jesse Erlbaum on WNYC Radio with Jim Colgan
WNYC's Jim Colgan tells WNYC's Isaac Davy Aronson about the thrills and trials of scooter-riding in New York City. Interviews include the NYMSTF's very own Jesse Erlbaum as well as our enthusiastic friends from Transportation Alternatives and scooter riders from across the city.
"There is a fixation on three modes of transportation in the city - you can walk, take mass transit or you can ride a bicycle. And those are all fine ways of transport. But so much single mindedness that it's to the exclusion of a scooter or a motorcycle." Referring to our rider's survey of parking damage, Jesse mentioned: "About 58 percent of all riders of scooters and motorcycles in 2009 had their vehicles knocked over at least once, so we're talking about nearly 60 percent chance in one year of getting knocked over. If that was the level of damage for automobiles, there would be riots in City Hall."
Click the picture to play the 3-minute video or double-click it to open a larger version in a new window.
Where are your papers?
At
a time when our nation is embroiled in controversies over national IDs, the
rights of police to randomly question people in Arizona over their citizenship
and the ability of the NYPD to stop and frisk people in poor neighborhoods,
the NYPD is now issuing papers to motorcycle riders caught up in their motorcycle
-targeted checkpoint details. But only on Puerto Rican Day!
We find this practice questionable to say the least. Someone in the NYPD probably sincerely thought we motorcyclists would appreciate this idea by making it easier to get through multiple checkpoints. But if you think more deeply, what is really going on is that someone in the NYPD thinks it is OK for motorcyclists to get stopped multiple times per day. Click on the picture on the left for more info.
Yet more improper tickets, now equipment related.
Noticing a trend here? We have been informed of many tickets being
issued in NYC for Violation Code 71, "Inspection Sticker Missing", when the
sticker is present and current but not located on the lower section of the
motorcycle's fork leg. If you received such a summons in NY, your rights have been violated.
NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law § 306 (b) states: "No motor vehicle shall be operated or parked on the public highways of this state unless a certificate or certificates of inspection, as required by this article, is or are displayed upon the vehicle or affixed to the registration certificate for the vehicle as may be determined by the commissioner." The Commissioner in NYCRR § 79.20 (c) (6) (i) (g) which governs the application of inspection certificates to motorcycles instructs: "affix the motorcycle inspection certificate to a permanent structural member on the left front side of the motorcycle visible when approaching the vehicle from the operator's left." The regulation used to require placement on the left lower fork leg but that was amended back in 2003.
Document and fight those summonses, complain by certified mail to the NYC Department of Finance and the NYPD Traffic Control Division, and submit your complaint to the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board as well. The CCRB conveniently accepts complaints by mail, phone and web.
We're not done yet. We were recently shown this document called "Taking the Mystery Out of Motorcycle Enforcement" (PDF, 2MB) which was published by the New York State Police. In that document NYCRR Section 54.11 (Eye Protection) is mis-quoted, and the document insists that compliant eyewear "will have “Z87” on the frames and lenses." This is in direct conflict with ANSI Z87-1989 which only requires a manufacturer's logo on the lenses, and still in direct conflict with ANSI Z87-2003 which requires the Z87 marking on lenses of goggles and face shields but not on the lenses of spectacles. Since neither version of the Z87 spec requires markings indicating the version (year) of compliance, law enforcement cannot rely on lens markings of eyewear of any kind, for determining ANSI Z87 compliance.
The abovementioned document also includes a letter from the NYS DMV's Technical Services Bureau stating that the inspection stickers may be affixed to plates bolted to the front left side of a motorcycle.
More improper tickets written against legally parked motorcycles.
If you received parking summonses in NYC with VC (Violation Code) 61 ("parking other than parallel to curb or opposite the direction of travel") for parking with your front wheel to the curb, or with VC 53 ("standing or parking in a safety zone") for parking between a stop line and the crosswalk, your rights have been violated.
NYC Code Title 34 Section 4-08 (m) (3) expressly permits motorcycles to park at an angle to the curb with one wheel touching the curb. The law does not dictate which wheel must touch the curb, nor does it mandate angles with respect to the curb or the roadway's direction of travel.
The area between a stop line and a crosswalk is not a safety zone according to the NYS Supplement to the national Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is incorporated into State law via Title 17 of the NY Codes Rules & Regulations. Safety zones are "channelizing islands, established for pedestrian protection, where traffic may pass on either side."
Document and fight those summonses, complain by certified mail to the NYC Department of Finance and the NYPD Traffic Control Division, and submit your complaint to the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board as well. The CCRB conveniently accepts complaints by mail, phone and web.
NYMSTF launches RSS and Twitter feeds for police checkpoint alerts.
In
response to New York's practice of conducting police checkpoints and pulling
over only motorcyclists, the NYMSTF has created an RSS feed and a Twitter
account that anybody can
subscribe to, and that anybody with a cell phone can contribute to. If you
don't wish to get caught up in one of these checkpoints, subscribe to the feed
and check it before your commute, or
follow us on Twitter to
receive updates on your cell phone. Anyone who encounters a checkpoint
should pull over someplace safe and use their cell phone to send a text message
about its location to 347-410-MSTF, starting that message with the word
checkpoint.
AMA issues Action Alert to promote dedicated motorycle parking.
As
we mentioned on June 5, our parking resolution is now in the hands of the
DOT. The AMA has created an Action
Alert to help keep this project moving. Please click
[here]
or on the AMA logo to open the Action Alert. Use it to contact the DOT and
give them some incentive to act positively and in a timely manner, and also use
the Action Alert to thank CB4 for
their receptiveness.
Manhattan CB4 approves three dedicated motorcycle parking areas!
The full Community Board met this past week and gave final approval to a resolution requesting three areas of dedicated two-wheeled vehicle parking in CB4. CB4 will now request NYCDOT to implement the request. Just as with CB2, this is a small pilot program which we hope will expand in the future.
The approved locations are:
Southwest corner of West 22nd Street and 7th Avenue (28' or 7 motorcycle/ scooter spaces);
Northwest corner of West 28th Street and 8th Avenue (24' or 6 motorcycle/scooter spaces);
Northeast corner of West 38th Street and 9th Avenue (24' or 6 motorcycle/scooter spaces, starting 15' from the fire hydrant).
Many thanks to Jesse Erlbaum and all the members of the Parking Committee for all their hard work!
Reports of motorcycle -only checkpoints in NYC have been flowing in.
Motorcyclists beware! Today at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge and
two days ago at the Queensboro Bridge. Officers assigned to the NYPD's
Manhattan Traffic Task Force (MTTF) are pulling over ALL
motorcycles and nothing but motorcycles, checking all paperwork and equipment
without any probable cause. The past few years have seen multiple
checkpoints like this operating throughout NYC on the day of the Puerto Rican
Day parade, which is next weekend.
If you believe the NYPD has discriminated against you as a motorcyclist, lodge your complaints with the CCRB and your elected officials, and fill out this complaint form. If officers have created a dangerous traffic condition carrying out their checkpoint you should call 311 from NYC to lodge a complaint.
NYMSTF attends the New York ABATE Freedom Rally in Albany, NY.
Organization
executives Cheryl Stewart and Brad Berson joined New York City motorcycle riders
and hundreds of riders from across New York to demonstrate peacefully on the
steps of the state capitol and remind our elected officials that we motorcycle
riders are also voters. We protested against targeted roadblocks,
the abuse of vaguely worded laws, the ongoing theft of crucial safety funds, the
no-fault insurance disparity, continuing attempts to introduce poorly conceived
laws and more. We promoted motorcycles as green, fuel and space efficient,
environmentally friendly modes of transportation that should be encouraged
rather than discouraged. We and our friends in the Brooklyn Alliance ABATE
chapter wrapped up the day with informative visits to several senators.
Click the pic for more photos.
NYMSTF Executive joins NCOM Convention attendees on blog talk radio.
NYMSTF VP Brad Berson spoke on All Riders Radio to discuss this year's NCOM Convention, how various motorcycling cultures are working together and what effects that has had and will have on the two- and three-wheeled community as a whole.
NYMSTF Executive Brad Berson attends the NCOM Convention in Orlando.
Pictured here are the Board of Directors at their May 6th meeting. The
NCOM
Convention has opened avenues for the NYMSTF to work with Motorcyclists'
Rights Organizations (MROs) nationwide and even globally, to help promote
the rights and safety of New York's motorcyclists. We look forward to
seeing our own efforts benefiting everyone else as well. Thanks to
AIM/NCOM and to the law
offices of Proner and
Proner for their hospitality and generosity! And thanks to all the
club and organization leaders who welcomed diversity with open arms. Click
on the picture for a brief report and many photographs from the Convention.
Our web site now sports a much-needed fresh new look!
Many thanks to Marc Shifflett and Jason King for the coding and artwork behind our terrific facelift. We will be tweaking the appearance for a while but the major transition work is complete. Please utilize our Contact form if you have any suggestions on further improvements or if you encounter any problems with the new web pages.
NYMSTF President Cheryl Stewart featured on WBAI-FM Radio.
Click [here] for a recording of the April 29 2010 interview where Cheryl discusses our recent accomplishments in CB2 and speaks about the necessity for and the many advantages of dedicated motorcycle parking. (Format: MP3, length: 5'48", size: 1,361KB).
The CB2 Transportation Committee has APPROVED our parking pilot.
Plans are going ahead for dedicated motorcycle parking spaces in their district. Thanks to everyone who appeared for last night's hearing! But our work isn't over yet... We still need to get the Board's final stamp of approval and then we'll need to get the DOT to execute the plans. Those familiar with the local politics in that neighborhood should understand that even though we're not done yet, this is a huge achievement, even if it did fall short of our initial wishes.
One of the spots being offered is a major hotspot for unjust parking summonses being written on legally parked motorcycles, simply because of motorists' complaints about difficulty parking between motorcycles. Yes, that is occurring again this year. See the October 22 2009 news entry for details. We encourage victims of this ongoing harassment to attend the relevant NYPD Precinct Community Council meetings to complain. Most of our complaints are in the 1st Precinct, whose Council meets at the precinct house, 630pm of the last Thursday of every month except July and August.
We have valuable forward momentum on our dedicated motorcycle parking initiative now and the CB2 Transportation Committee should be receptive to more parking space requests in the future. What is important now is to keep the momentum and to be positive role models in and for our community. We need good public relations here everyone!
Manhattan Community Board 2 hears our dedicated parking proposal.
Manhattan Community Board 2 heard our proposal last night for a dedicated motorcycle
parking pilot program in their district. Early reports are that
our requests may be approved for motorcycle parking at Crosby and Grand
Streets, and at Waverly Place and Grove Street.
The good news is that our presentation was well-received (thanks also to those who showed up to support us, and to the NYCMAG folks with their information packets) and motorcyclists in CB2 may receive two motorcycle parking areas. The bad news is, we requested parking in a total of seven areas in the CB2 district and only two are receiving consideration. The reason for the other five areas not receiving consideration is noise! Remember everyone, loud pipes lose rights. Pipe down and ride defensively.
ALSO, partial results are in from our parking survey. (see April 11 2010 immediately below) Thanks to all who have participated. We'll keep the survey open a little longer for the stragglers and post final results shortly. We would like to say the results are shocking but sadly we are not surprised. Please click [here] for an Acrobat file of the results.
Please take our survey regarding parking in New York City.
It is only TWO questions and should just take a moment to complete. We are trying to get data on how frequently motorcycles are getting knocked over in and around the city. Even if your motorcycle has not been knocked over, fill it out please!
[http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JQ7XCJH]
The Village of Port Jefferson responds!
On On March 24 2010 we reported that the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District sent out a deeply disturbing newsletter to area businesses which referred to motorcyclists as unsightly and implied that motorcycles were undesirable altogether. The Mayor of Port Jefferson attended the April 6th meeting and both the Village Mayor and the BID President have made statements distancing themselves from the newsletter and its sentiments (visit the link below). Please re-visit our web site's Port Jefferson page for a meeting summary.
[http://www.portjeff.com/cms/unattached/official-statements/]
NYMSTF featured in Backroads Magazine and AM New York.
The NYMSTF was mentioned in the April 2010 edition of Backroads Magazine [ARTICLE LINK] (an excellent regional motorcycle enthusiast periodical) and also in the City Living section of the March 25 2010 edition of am New York [ARTICLE LINK].
In response to the article in AM New York, the NYMSTF would like to remind area riders that it is illegal to remove license plates from motor vehicles and we do not condone this activity. Vehicles without license plates are subject to treatment as abandoned property and may be removed by the Department of Sanitation. The NYMSTF maintains that motorcycles and scooters should be officially exempt from Muni-Meter fees, at least until the city and/or the state installs meters designed to equitably meet our needs.
Port Jefferson is at it again!
As some of you may know, the incorporated village of Port Jefferson - home to the Bridgeport -bound ferry from Long Island's north shore and tourist destination popular among bicyclists, motorcyclists and motorists alike - has a history of trying to make life difficult for motorcyclists. Several days ago the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District sent a newsletter to businesses in the village - a newsletter that contained bigoted language and ideas which as motorcyclists and as citizens of the United States we find shocking.
That association is holding a meeting on April 6 2010. Telephone 1-631-476-2363 for an appointment to attend the meeting or at least email them at info@portjeffbid.com to politely let the Port Jefferson BID members know what you think of their ugly stereotyping and shameful behavior.
The NYMSTF is now on Facebook®!
Some visual improvements to our web site are
just around the corner too. Also,
our first newsletter was emailed to our members a few days ago, describing our work on
parking issues here in NYC, and we have been adding many new features to our web
site including another NYMSTF exclusive - handy motorcyclist tip sheets!
The current round of tip sheets feature information about safe, legal
motorcycle parking in NYC and about motorcycle parking availability in and
around New York City area airports.
New York fixes helmet and eyewear regulations.
The New York Codes Rules & Regulations pertaining to motorcycle helmets and eye protection have been amended! Great news all around for New York's motorcyclists, and proof that organizing and speaking up really can facilitate change. You heard it HERE FIRST! The requirements for reflective materials on your helmets have been dropped, and the additional identification labeling demands also have been dropped. This makes the law more consistent with the NY State Motorcycle Driver's Manual, is great news for folks who paint or airbrush over the exterior markings on their helmets and makes the law more consistent with Federal regulations governing motorcycle helmets. Lastly, references to the obsolete VESC-8 standard for eye protection have been replaced by ANSI Z87.1, so most tested shatterproof eyewear should be compliant.
Epilogue to the 2010 International Motorcycle Show.
Thanks everyone for your outpouring of support at the International Motorcycle Show in New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center! Thank you for your enthusiasm, your ideas and your help. It was wonderful to hear from our visitors how perfectly on the mark our complaints and objectives are, and we welcome all of our new members who signed up at the show and afterward.
Membership applications can now be submitted on-line.
Please click the Join link on the top of this page to become a part of the NYMSTF! You can help us promote motorcycling and defend your rights and privileges, even if just by receiving our bulletins and newsletters to stay informed about issues affecting you as a motorcyclist in New York.
NYMSTF promoted on the Biker Lowdown show on Internet radio!
The NYMSTF is featured in a twelve minute segment about forty-eight minutes into Biker Lowdown's 11/4/09 one year anniversary show. Listen in here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/American-Biker-X
Did your motorcycle or scooter receive a parking summons on Grand Street?
If you received a parking summons on Grand Street or anywhere else in NYC where individual parking spaces have been marked by painted lines, with violation code (VC) 62, which applies to "standing or parking a vehicle beyond markings on the curb or the pavement of a street which marks a parking space, except when a vehicle is too large to fit in that 'marked' parking space", your rights may have been violated and you should fight the summons and complain to the Traffic Agent's supervisors.
Take photographs which clearly illustrate that your vehicle was parked within the painted lines, as well as photos of the block, and bring those photos with you to fight the summons in person.
You may complain to the Traffic Control Division - the agency to which the TEA agents belong - by phone. For Command 103 and 102 call 212-268-1640 or 212-268-3219 to complain about these fraudulent summonses. For Command 105 call 212-233-0878 and for Command 101 call 212-475-3582.
THERE ARE NO LAWS IN NEW YORK CITY OR NEW YORK STATE PROHIBITING VEHICLES - MOTORCYCLES OR OTHERWISE - FROM SHARING A PARKING SPOT!
We suggest you also make your complaints in writing by certified mail to the NYC Department of Finance and NYPD Traffic Control Division, and submit your complaint to the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board as well. The CCRB conveniently accepts complaints by mail, phone and web.
The motorcycle shop database is now on-line!
Please click on the Shops link on the left to see the current listing of shops and to add listings of motorcycle and scooter shops you know about, of any size, whether it's just a hole-in-the-wall repair shop, a customization house or a full-blown dealership. We would like to cover shops throughout the metropolitan area so feel free to include shops in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland counties as well as northern New Jersey and southwest Connecticut.
The NYMSTF and its members will be able to use this database to reach out to the owners of those shops when they need to know about local legislation that may affect their businesses. This database is also a great mechanism for folks in the NYC metro area to find shops with unique goods and services that don't necessarily appear in the Yellow Pages or even elsewhere on the Internet.
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