It's the Brian Lair show on WNYC. I'm Bridget Bergen, senior reporter in the WNYC and Gothamist

Newsroom sitting in for Brian this week. Now, we'll talk about the NYPD's crackdown on cyclists and why a growing

number of riders are being pulled into the criminal court system. Over the past few months,

the NYPD has dramatically ramped up enforcement against cyclists violating traffic rules,

issuing nearly 6,000 criminal summonses between April and June.

That's up from 561 in the first three months of the year, a 10-fold increase.

The directive comes straight from police commissioner Jessica Titish, who announced that cyclists

caught running red lights, biking

against traffic, or not wearing helmets, would no longer get traffic tickets. Instead,

they'd receive criminal summonses requiring a court appearance. The city says the crackdown

targets safety violations in high traffic corridors, many involving e-bikes and delivery workers.

But everyday cyclists are getting caught up in the crackdown too, and that's prompted concerns about

whether cyclists are being penalized more harshly than drivers and about the potential risks

for undocumented immigrants. WNYC and Gothamists Paige Omec reported this story and Stephen Nesson, making his

third appearance on the show in two weeks is our resident transportation expert. Page crunched

the numbers and mapped out where the enforcement is happening and Stephen spoke with writers about

the crackdown, some of whom say the policy feels more punitive than protective.

Steven, I think you might win for the most frequent guest on the show over the last week and a half.

I have my punch card.

And Paige, welcome.

Hey.

So if you're a cyclist or a delivery worker, or if you've been stopped under this new crackdown we want to hear from you

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