You are hereBad News for the Sexxy Sunday Crowd
Bad News for the Sexxy Sunday Crowd
To warmly welcome Bike Month in Austin, the APD has seen fit to shut down Sexxy Sunday at the Palmer Events Center:
Dude, the cops showed up and we all got a "Notice of Criminal Trespassing" so we can't go back on palmer events property for a year or we will be arrested.
Apparently it's nothing; the old fogy in charge of that bit of city property apparently didn't like the cut of our jib, so we got the boot and can't come back.
Photo by James
Though they say skateboarding is not a crime, it sounds like biking is punishable by a criminal trespass warning. I guess this is their way of making things clear: The Palmer Events Center does not care about bike people. To see more pics of the last Palmer session, as well as some shots of a new locale, check out James' Photostream.
How fucking lame! I don't care how much Chief Acevedo tries to appease the biking community, as long as bullshit like this keeps occurring I have a hard time believing that they'll deliver on the promises of more protection, more prosecution of drivers who hit cyclists, and an even shake when it comes to getting pulled over. All I've seen so far is the crackdown on cyclists, I haven't seen any of the positives. What's the deal, cops? We pay taxes too, believe it or not, and according to the city website this is city-owned property, paid for by US.
You would think that with all this promotion of "green" everything, the pushing of the new bicycle master plan, trying to increase Austin's silver level Bicycle Friendly Community rating, and the fact that it's fucking BIKE MONTH would mean that the cops might consider trying to work with the cycling community, rather than against it. As always, this is a bunch of cops we're talking about, so I know what I'm asking for may be outside the realm of possibility.
I can still hope, can't I?
Look guys, if someone asks you to leave, you should leave, without complaining, because it only hurts your cause to pitch a fit. Come back later, be cool, and be stealthy.
Did you really think that you would get to do this every week without anyone getting annoyed? Let's say that my friends and I show up with our 40's, sleeping bags, and dogs, and hang out in front of your house, right by the curb where it's the city's easement (i.e. property) just chatting, telling jokes, and laughing really loudly, every Sunday evening. Sometimes you have to bring your new girlfriend through us after your date. Sometimes we're loud enough that you can't get to sleep and you have to go to work the next day. Maybe you're having a barbeque on the front lawn and we're there, just doin' our thing. Don't you think that will become tiresome? Don't you think you might have some complaints?
The cops weren't driving by, saw some kids on bikes, and decided to have some fun through persecution of cyclists. The Palmer Events Center people called, complained, and asked them to get you to move on. Maybe the way they handled it wasn't to your liking, but you're not making it better for any of us when you get in the face of a cop. If you say "Oh, sorry, we'll move on," they won't threaten you with tickets and arrests. After that you get to use your brains and decide on a new place to ride where you might have a better chance of not ruffling any feathers.
The cops are not out to get you.
Kinda semi-related, but out hackysack/footbag club plays there every Saturday for over 2 years and have never had a problem. In fact, we know the security guard who works there on saturdays, he's totally cool with it. We've been kicked out of plenty of other places, but Palmer was always cool with us. I guess bikes could be perceived more dangerous, but still that's unfortunate.
I assume the Palmer events center is private property. Perhaps there's a public flatland area that would work instead? Just the first idea I have off the top of my head. This still sucks that this event fell victim to our lawsuit-crazed society.
-Ben
http://www.austinhack.com/
So, the `Notice of Criminal Tresspass' means that you've been informed that you're tresspassing -- I guess it's a formal warning?
Are you guys also prohibited from attending the many events that happen there?
So I guess that *nobody* is permitted here? Or is it only cyclists? It looks an awful lot like it's part of the park next door, so the idea that it's off-limits seems pretty surprising.
Did somebody complain?
How to respond to this?
-- do nothing, don't go back
-- do nothing, go back, let the police arrest you, then handle it in some other way (civil disobedience is often effective, but the cost can be high)
-- if nobody belongs here, call 911 (911 is the appropriate number to call when a cop needs to be dispatched) any time anybody is seen up there?
-- take the issue to City Council?
-- take the issue to Acevedo? (I doubt he was consulted about this incident, at least not in advance.) It's probably not up to him, but he might be a good person to start with.
-- take the issue up with someone else in the city? The Austin City Convention Center Department themselves?
-- get a lawyer, who will probably do one of the things above, for $ of course.
Just because it's city-owned, paid for with our tax dollars, that doesn't mean we have any right to use it. However, in this case it looks like it's part of the park next door and it's not like people were going inside. There's no `No Tresspassing' signs that I'm aware of.
It seems to me that if the sidewalks around it are off-limits, then they need to be marked accordingly. And the police need to run everybody off, not just the skateboarders, er, cyclists.
No, it's not really a cycling issue. It's bigger than that. But maybe Mr Riley might be a good person to ask about it, since he's likely to be sympathetic.
I guess it depends on just how much people care ...
A cop booted us out of the Amtrak parking lot after Fab Friday too. He was a legit asshole as well. I believe his comment was to the effect of, "Someone called the us because you were blocking the parking lot. It's the end of my shift and I'm going to be pissed if I have to come back."