We never thought we’d say so, but Alec Baldwin has a point.
Not about mouthing off to the cops who pulled him over for riding his bicycle the wrong way up lower Fifth Avenue. For that, the foul-mouthed actor fully deserves the summons for disorderly conduct the police slapped him with.
But Baldwin is right to resent what he called the “mismanaged carnival of stupidity” that is New York — at least with regard to the selective enforcement of traffic laws on cyclists. Every day New Yorkers see thousands of bikers running red lights, cycling on sidewalks and in general making themselves a menace.
The only reason Baldwin got ticketed is that the NYPD was in the midst of a two-day crackdown on traffic infractions, particularly for drivers who text or fail to yield to pedestrians. Spend a few hours watching the number of traffic violations by bikes at any busy intersection and you’ll see why a two-day crackdown is a joke.
Whether it is because of a lack of will or a lack of manpower, the fact is cyclists daily show their contempt for the city’s traffic laws — with little fear of consequences. Ask an elderly New Yorker what it’s like to be walking home with a bag of groceries only to be buzzed by some arrogant delivery person on a bike.
We hold no brief for Alec Baldwin. But he has a case that he’s been singled out. If the NYPD is going to ticket him for riding his bike the wrong way down a street, the cops should be writing hundreds of tickets every day for all those self-entitled New Yorkers who behave as a law unto themselves once they get atop their bicycle seats.