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| Fifth Column |
| 'Whose streets? Our (My NY ) streets'...NOT the radical Left's |
| 2004-08-28 |
| BY DEREK ROSE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER (lock up the invading 'protesters' by the thousands if required) For an hour and a half last night, thousands of unruly cyclists had the run of some of Manhattan's most famous streets. At each intersection, a few bikers would stop and block traffic, infuriating cabbies and other motorists. Whistling, hooting and hollering, the pedalers turned the car-free streets into their own private playgrounds. "It was fantastic," said Bismarck Decastillo, 39, a thrift store worker from the south Bronx. "The people protested, with freedom. When people can get together, we can do something." "Whose streets? Our streets," was their slogan, repeated endlessly through the night. Most pedestrians applauded and cheered, although a few gave one-fingered salutes. But the motorists honked in frustration. On Houston St., bikers pounded on the windows of a black Mercedes-Benz they thought had driven recklessly through the weaving bicycles. "A protest? What are they protesting - cabs?" asked one puzzled man as he watched the traffic-snarling procession. The cyclists first headed south from Union Square down Broadway, bore west onto Houston St., turned north onto Sixth Ave., east onto W. 30th St. and north on Madison Ave. Then they turned west on Central Park South to Columbus Circle before heading down Broadway and Seventh Ave. through Times Square. Cops held up traffic on W. 42nd St. to let the bikers through. But as the protesters reached W. 34th St. - just north of Madison Square Garden, site of the Republican National Convention - police quickly moved in and began making arrests for blocking traffic, stunning the crowd. "We were standing there, and the police in riot gear came," said Becca Jensen, 22, of the East Village. "It was like it was planned. It was like they set us up." |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #3 no sh&t? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-28 10:23:49 PM |
| #2 "It was like it was planned. It was like they set us up." Hehehehehehehehhehehhehehehehhhehe..... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-28 9:42:09 PM |
| #1 Gotta love bicyclists willing to tangle with a 3000-lb automobile. But they tend to lose, y'know?... |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-08-28 9:25:55 PM |