NYC DOT needs a more reasonable plan for SI Ferry cyclist searches

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.