Questions For NYPD After Bicyclists Shut Down Cross Bronx Expressway
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was bike bedlam this past Sunday on the Cross Bronx Expressway – a road where bicycles are banned.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, hundreds of riders shut down a stretch of the highway, and the NYPD busted more than a dozen riders for disorderly conduct.
But did police do enough to contain the danger?
The throng of young bikers were whooping it up as they shut down the expressway. Drivers watched in confusion, and one man who shot video said it was "wild to see."
"Drivers were honking their horns; confused. I think most of them were just baffled," said Joe Enoch, a producer with "Inside Edition." "They couldn't believe what they were seeing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Enoch rode undercover while investigating for "Inside Edition." His video showed no police at Webster Avenue as riders rolled toward the Cross-Bronx.
The event, known as "rideout" – is a social media-fueled impromptu mass gathering.
"A lot of it is for the thrills and to cause chaos I think," Enoch said.
CBS2 asked the New York City Police Department what efforts were made to prevent the bike riders from entering the Cross Bronx Expressway, and for more information about police vehicles seen in video trailing behind the bike riders.
Police would only say: "This was a planned citywide rally of bicyclists. Sixteen males were arrested citywide."
"At the end of the ride, they did eventually break up the group by putting up barriers," Enoch said.
One rider posted Instagram video showing police stopping bikers and 57th Street and Tenth Avenue. Riders yelled profanity as police detained one young man on the ground and a second young man near the sidewalk.
Several bikes ended up on the ground, and one rider showed his disdain by jumping over a bicycle before a pack of riders took off down the sidewalk.