The popular Five Boro Bike Tour narrowly avoided having to pay the NYPD nearly $1 million in traffic control costs this week. The police department had claimed that the event isn’t in fact charitable, because its proceeds benefit Bike New York, its own operating body. The court disagreed.
“Some issues in promoting this tour may be questions for the IRS, but I don’t think it’s a question for the police department,” said Manhattan judge Margaret Chan. “Some issues in promoting this tour may be questions for the IRS, but I don’t think it’s a question for the police department.”
Chan also wondered aloud why the NYPD would go after cycling considering Mayor Bloomberg’s stringent and well-documented efforts to encourage two-wheeled transportation. “Isn’t (cycling) something the city wants to promote?” she asked.
