Update: From Dave Chomowicz: I was so outraged by your expose today on the latest NYPD harassment of cyclists that I went back and checked some of the pics I took last week. Attached is what I found.
Tickets for running lights, speed traps, now this. Three weeks ago when we noticed a huge uptick in the hit counts of our photo galleries. Even five year old pictures were getting a few thousand hits a day. After our initial glee we dug deeper and noticed that all the hits came from one IP address in lower Manhattan, and they came between midnight and 6am. We chalked it up to a spambot trying to crack our Fort Knox-like security and forgot about it.
Then last week one of the nyvelocity riders got a ticket in the mail and brought it to Alex’s attention. It appeared to be a red light camera-style ticket for $270, complete with lo res photo of the rider running a light. But how did the NYPD identify the rider?
We called up a friend at the DOT and asked him to snoop around. A former New York assistant DA made some calls from Colorado. A retired cop made inquiries from Florida. This is what we found out.
A Jack Russell belonging to a prominent manager of a hedge fund (who shall remain anonymous, as we don’t want to be sued out of existence) ran into a CRCA race pack two years ago. The dog got bounced around and suffered a few bumps and bruises but was otherwise ok. The owner brought him to the start finish area to complain but was unable to find a person to direct his anger toward.
The recent crackdown on cyclists in the park seems to have given him an outlet for his frustration. Around Christmas time he and his wife gave a massive endowment to the NYPD earmarked to fund new ways of cracking down on cyclists, specifically racing cyclists. Part of that endowment went to installing red light cameras and creating a rider recognition algorithm.
The algorithm creates a profile of a rider based on the rider’s helmet, glasses, kit, and bike. The theory is that racers wear the same kit on every ride, and those elements are as good an ID as a fingerprint. While this may seem dubious, the NYPD are claiming 98% certainty in identification once a profile for that rider is created.
Now here comes the diabolical part. Those rider profiles are being generated using our galleries, your Facebook photos, and your team websites. NYPD computers are scouring the web for photos of NY racers. If you’ve been tagged in a Facebook photo, the NYPD has a profile of you. If you’ve been flamed by name on our site, the NYPD has a profile of you. If you win a race and raise your arms, the NYPD will find the results for that race and tag you. Even if the photo in question is a side view shot, their database of kit, helmet, glasses, and bike models is able to generate a frontal composite view for you. It just so happens that the ticketed nyvelocity rider won several races in ’09 and ’10.
The camera in question, at about 82nd street on the West Drive.
Some lawyer racers are looking into the constitutionality of singling out racers for ticketing, but in the meantime you can take some precautions if you’re going to train in Central Park. Don’t train in the same helmet, glasses, or kit that you race in. If you have a rain bike, train on that bike exclusively. If you don’t happen to own two of everything, you better stop at every red light.
Reached for comment, Capt. Wishnia of the Central Park Precinct would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the program, but reiterated that even one accident was too many. Asked if it was common for private citizens to fund law enforcement initiatives, Capt. Wishnia hung up.
I’ll run over every one of you queer cycle humpers like the dogs you are. None will survive, even though my Jack russell did. In conclusion, get fucked.
Yours,
NYC Hedge funds R us
And don’t think these cameras sleep in on weekends. Race number + face + kit… You are f–ked!
We should all give up and look for some vacant industrial neighborhood in the Bronx for training and the Spring races.
That ADA from Colorado is a real champ.
i always kinda suspected that the crackdown had to do with some of the wealthy people who live around the park complaining about cyclists, but the truth is even worse than that. thanks nyvelocity for revealing what this crackdown has all been about: a wealthy dude enacting revenge.
trade around equipment…that’ll nullify the database.
Leak the hedge fund manager’s name. We have connections and countermeasures as well, and there’s many of us. We can collectively make his life equally suck!
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I got one of those in the mail on Tuesday.
This is insanity.
but it is a picture of a mengoni rider… I have to wait to upgrade to the 4s to get on that team right?
Great job by Andy and the NYV team to dig in to this story and reveal the root cause. It is now up to eveyone else to spread the word and further expose the secret and prejudicial agenda of the NYPD’s Central Park precinct.
This is why I purchased the new Garmin 900 — the radar detector and camera canceling feature makes the device a must have for CP training. The review was just posted at pez.
This is absolutely appalling. It’s some sort of Orwellian nightmare funded by some rich twat with a grudge. We need to stand up to this or we can fully kiss goodbye to riding in the parks.
What’s next? Scouring this message board for the non-believers in the so-called safety measure?
This is absolutely appalling. It’s some sort of Orwellian nightmare funded by some rich twat with a grudge. We need to stand up to this or we can fully kiss goodbye to riding in the parks.
What’s next? Scouring this message board for the non-believers in the so-called safety measure?
A ticket by a cop who knocked on my door and sked me if I were a cyclist and I said Si señor. And he gave me a ticket and he said it was for future violations.
While I understand that there’s no traffic in the park when riders are running these lights, they’re still red lights — and, as such, no rules are being violated in ticketing riders for violating traffic laws. I agree that it’s silly, but getting pissed at someone for enforcing a dumb rule that you know you’re breaking doesn’t really give you the upper hand in this argument. The smart thing would be to try to get some kind of rule change for the no-traffic hours in the park: either that red lights can be treated as yields during those times; or have them change them to flashing yellows for those hours.
Also, it kinda sucks if the root of this is that some dude is pissed ’cause he couldn’t control his dog.
Hey!!! You! That’s cheating!
I saw them installing one of those in a tree at the W 100th St light last week. I noticed that the work was being done by Consolidated Pest Control if that helps in your investigation to get to the bottom of this BS.
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It’s a sign of more things to come, unfortunately.
lesson of the day: we should all start wearing v02maxout.com kits
I have gotten some additional info on the hedge fund manager.
Only a first name at this point, but it is BERNIE.
Evidently, his endowmentto the NYPD was huge.
Problem is, I don’t think there is any way to get revenge by making his life any more miserable than it already is.
Stu
My face book page has a traffic ticket inserted front and center accusing me of breaking the law. My insurance company sent an email informing me that points on my license will add to my annual premiums, all due to this latest BIG BROTHER attack on our rights.
WE NEED TO FIGHT THESE tickets in court. It’s a breach of privacy!
Yeah, I got a visit from an officer who gave me 45 tickets for going through every single light in the Park one day. I asked him how they found me and whether it was cameras. He said no, it was a new spectral analysis they are doing on residue left by tires. As it turns out, each tire has a unique chemical signature that is a result of the curing process–sort of like a fingerprint. After this happened, I found an underground manufacturer of tires from Venice (Ingenui–they do not even have a website) that treats their tires with glass coating. Enough to mask the chemical residue, but not enough to make them slippy. The problem is that they work best when I am going over 25 mph, so I need to time my rides to avoid the speed traps. They are $1000 apiece, but 45 x $270 is $12,150, so I effectively save $10K+ for each set. Look into it.
The NYPD should not be for sale/rent.
It was only a matter of time before NYPD was going to start using it for ticketing in NYC.
I am not surprised by this. The NYPD is a laboratory for DARPA technology and we are the rats.
Apparently the NYPD started training a few officers last year who started as cat 5’s. Most have upgraded and a few are close to Cat 3. They’re going to be racing in CRCA and taking down names in both the A & B fields. Just a heads up.
So lets start taking pictures of all the j walking pedestrians.
so now I can argue that upgrading my bike, my helmet, my glasses on a regular basis will help me save money by avoiding tickets? Awesome, my wife might just buy that!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2698090/posts
I suspected it, Shen is a Freeper
The DARPA agents involved are code named Ulrich and Dieter. Need I say more.
I’m sneaky like that. But they did take the article without asking.
Ever seen the license plate readers on NYPD patrol cars?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72131699@N00/4516177553/
They’re “just” for license plates.
As the daughter of an officer, a cyclist a runner and a dog-lover (except those who run loose in the streets) I simply cannot believe that one massive tool can control an entire cycling community.
I would LOVE for absolutely everyone that rides in Central Park to wear the same kit. Call it CP riding kit or call it what you want, I think that it’s a brilliant idea.
Add offending IP addresses to hosts.deny on your webserver, assumin g its UNIX.
a cycling martyr. you have been warned.
“Holy Cow! You do realize that you have found the Mother Lode, don’t you. There is so much to despise here I don’t know where to begin. Arrogant cops, racing cyclists, hedge fund managers, Red light cameras, Jack Russel Terriers. And they’re all from Manhattan!”
Welcome to the argument status 5 weeks ago, thanks for your timely contribution.
just so we know.
Sniper’s have been positioned at Belvedere Castle…
Was when Schmalz sternly confronted the aforementioned canine with “EFF YOU……DOG!!!” almost fell off laughing.
the link in paragraph 4 (“ran into a CRCA race pack”) goes to:
Schmalz August 2009
Mon, 08/03/2009 – 9:14pm by schmalz
CRCA A Race, August 30, 2009
how can he be writing about the August 30 race on August 3?
Like a post TdF Crit……the results are predetermined, so why wait for the race to actually happen to write the article.
My hope is that Fox News takes notice of this news story.
we need a cloaking device
Race data is right you should find somewhere to train…you are all upset about being ticketed for breaking the law…what if all cars took this stance to not stop at red lights? Bikers need to act as vehicles esp if they are riding on roads. You want the same treatment you need to respect the same rules.
I think you just proved that Schmalz planted the Jack Russell!
Wow – this is getting fucking depressing.
Second thought, more constructive – will these tickets stand up in court? You point to the picture, say “Is there a license plate in that picture? No? Well, it’s not me.” Case closed?
I know it’s a hassle, but $270 is enough for me to take a morning off.
Don’t blame me, I was humping a Dachshund that morning.
i spoke with a cop friend about this and he told me that the culprit who was destined to receive a serious, serious blow to the wallet in this first week of camera-based ticketing was “a guy in a black and pink outfit who is in the park literally all day”
you sneaky little SOB..give it up before the NYVELO community spins outa control with righteous anger.
…sinker
That post with the camera on it is so spooky that doesn’t even cast a shadow.
Oh my god, INVISIBLE non shadow casting red light cameras. What will they think of next.
Andy, don’t give the NYPD ideas.
we are fucked, people.
beard’s coming in nicely. i’m outta here.
this is way to far for APRIL 1 JOKE! Come Andy this not funny bro!!!
After doping with anti-diatribetin this makes me realize how much worse it could really be.
Just saw a squirrel with a GoPro camera strapped to its head on Cat Rock. He also had a notepad and a walkie-talkie. BEWARE.
Can someone bring a mirror to the park and check if those things have reflections?
…or it it floats, it’s a witch.
Our new team kit has just arrived – can’t say which team for obvious reasons – but it incorporates new nano technology that covers the material’s surface with tiny pillars designed to bend light. Whilst this groundbreaking technique is both expensive and is currently under review by Nature Photonics we believe a hassle free ride on Wednesday night was proof enough.
Jason Valentine, one of the Berkeley researchers behind the material, calls our team’s material a “carpet cloak.” In both cases the process is like hiding something beneath a rug.
“The object is effectively hidden on the ground,” Valentine said, noting that the team in question does not wear either carpets or cloaks but rugs would be a good idea for next year’s order.
Please say that this is an April Fool’s joke.
Lovin’ the story and pics!
I can’t believe how many iDOTs take this seriously!
“I can’t believe how many iDOTs take this seriously!”
You’d believe it if you knew how many posts asking if this was real or an April Fool’s Day joke have been deleted in the past five hours with no comment. I’d say a dozen at least.
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Apparently this is the team that dominated the C field in last week’s CRCA Club Race – well done.
but I’m not going to get drawn on our identity – just understand that nano means the pillars are tiny and may have a positive effect on wind resistance. We have somewhat limited resources – you could cover multiple tickets with just one of our gloves – but I think come CRCA on Saturday you will find there is one team that will be in a “mystery” break. Expect to get pulled over when we lap the field.
Don’t train in the same helmet, glasses, or kit that you race in. If you have a rain bike, train on that bike exclusively. If you don’t happen to own two of everything, you better stop at every red light.
Damn, for a moment I wished it would be real so I get to buy EVEN MORE gear. Awesome work guys. 95% seem to have been FOOLED!
There is legislation pending that if it passes would require bikes in NY to be registered. They would also be required to display a license plate.
This april fools joke could easily become reality!
You had me, I was even going to post a comment saying “now this is real, great reporting! A class stuff”
Then I Got to the Jack Russell and hedge fund stuff and knew I’ve been fooled lol.
No one has been ticketed for running lights on foot in the recreational lane. Practicing cyclocross dismounts at each red light encounter is good training and perfectly legal. Just watch the remounts, it’s your thigh you want to throw onto the saddle.
that gets old real quick
I give the photoshop work an A-
… Red light camera tickets are only $50. To get $270 they have to catch you in the act.
can someone please give photoshop website.
I just received 12 red light tickets in the mail today from CP cameras! This ant no joke! Seriously!
Since when did NY Parks Dept. start installing cameras on tree limbs?
I got one and I don’t even live in NY! Although I did imagine I’d run that red light if I came up on it, so the pre-cogs must of known I’d run it.
http://nycc.org/message-board/cyclist-arrested-running-red-light-upper-west-side/50745