As I've previously reported, all cyclists riding the Staten Island Ferry must submit to mandatory bag searches, while non-cyclists are subject to “random” screening.
I have had my possessions searched by a bomb-detecting dog or a Michael Stapleton Associates guard at least 150 times since moving to Staten Island and taking the ferry twice a day, five days a week, from March 2009 to present.
This is an excessive violation of the Fourth Amendment of our nation's Constitution, which states "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
The policy of the DOT is to instruct its hired guards to screen every cyclist every time. Despite the Maritime Security (MARSEC) rating of 1, which indicates the “minimum appropriate security measures”; despite logical reasoning that if an explosive is small enough to fit within a bike frame, it can also fit within a purse or backpack of a non-cyclist; despite how the DOT's policy mandates its guards to screen children with bikes and senior citizens with bikes; despite that no other New York ferry system or major transportation hub (i.e. Port Authority terminal, Grand Central Station, Penn Station) requires a mandatory bag screening for cyclists, this rule remains unchanged in order to accommodate reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
The DOT's policy is due to the Maritime Security Act of 2002, which allows ports to establish an Area Maritime Security Plan based upon their individual needs. Under the current rules, less than 1% of ferry passengers are "randomly" screened, and at least 300 (the cyclists) are screened repeatedly. This does not condition the guards to be vigilant, or to recognize warning signs of threat or suspicious behavior by any of the passengers. This conditions the guards to check every cyclist regardless of the threat they pose and overlook others who might actually be a danger.
A Letter to the Editor in today's Staten Island Advance also draws attention to this issue in hopes of uniting cyclists and residents alike for more attentive, proportionate, and reasonable screening policy on our ferry.
It is time for the DOT to create a new plan.
Comments
Hmmmmm. So they checked all of those folks who participated in the 5 boro bike ride that ended at Staten Island and went to Manhattan via ferry?
Yes, actually. My boyfriend and I helped out for 5 Boro; he is a mechanic for a bike rental company and I helped check bikes out and in. We had to be on the 5 AM ferry.
When we got there at ten mins until 5, the line was enormous. We had to plead to be allowed on since we had to work it. They cut it off after so many passengers because of the ferry capacity and to allow time for the searches. The dogs were out. The time can add up. Ironically, the bags get searched more often than the cycles, and most of the riders didn't have too much on them, so it went smoothly.
I'm sure the guard wasn't very concerned, due to the probable lack of motivation to bring an explosive to a bike ride at 5 AM.
(And if you can tell that easily, shouldn't the biker searches be by an attentive judgment call just like pedestrians?)
The line to get on the ferry at the end took hours, too. There was security everywhere, so if anything, they knuckled down harder toward the end of the day.
I posted this comment here before, no idea why it's not / didn't show up.
I have never had a bag checked when taking my bike on the SI ferry, and I have been doing so for years.
The searches began in 2006. I don't know what time of day you ride, or what kind of Jedi magic you're working on these guys, but every time I ride the ferry, every time my cycling acquaintances ride the ferry, at all times of the day between 5 am and the late late night, we ALL must get our bags sniffed before we are allowed to board. The guards simply say, "That is the rule."
I envy you. It must be nice to not be treated like a criminal every day. I will say with certainty, though, that you are the fortunate exception rather than the rule.
Great to see the article. I may have to do a Seattle version. So far I haven't heard any cycle/ferry horror stories here. I may need to take the ferry just to check it out personally. Good luck in NYC.
I'm also a Staten Island bike commuter, and I don't mind. In fact, the dog sniffs are an improvement--it used to be that we had to open up our bags, and that was aggravating when I was hurrying to catch a boat. Of course, in the past we never had to submit to searches, but I have been riding my bike on the ferry long enough to remember shelling out a quarter for a bike ticket.
I've often ridden when there are guards but no dogs, and they still make us open our bags. It IS an inconvenience, but more importantly, there are still hundreds to thousands boarding upstairs who carry all sizes and shapes of baggage and do not have to get searched. When I bring my same bag upstairs, I've never been asked to open it or have a dog sniff it. It does not make sense nor does it increase safety to screen the same few people repeatedly, especially since they comprise of less than 1% of the passengers, when the other 99% essentially go freely.
It's not just an issue of the boarding area, either. Families with strollers entering on the bottom level, who are often laden with shopping bags, do not get searched. But the elderly gentleman on a bike with his lunch in his backpack must open it, because, you know, there might be a bomb there.
I would gladly pay a quarter a ride if it meant that I wouldn't have to deal with this double-standard nonsense ever again.
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