Six months ago, in regards to Critical Mass, Criminal Court Judge Gerald Harris determined that the parade permit law is “hopelessly overbroad” and “constitutes a burden on free expression that is more than the First Amendment can bear.”

In response, the NYPD wants to redefine parade permit laws. According to the NY Times:

The Police Department wants to require parade permits for bicyclists traveling in groups of 20 or more, and any bicyclists or walkers who take to the streets in groups of two or more and disobey traffic laws for things like parades, races or protests, according to a public notice filed with the city.

The department also wants to require a parade permit for groups of 35 or more protesters who restrict themselves to the sidewalk, officially clarifying a regulation that court rulings described as too vague, according to a police spokesman.

Under this proposal, you and a friend or other person, would need a parade permit before cutting across the street mid-block, or riding bicycles without bells, or hailing a cab from the edge of the street, or volunteering to chaperone a horde of underprivileged children on a field trip to the museum.

A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for August 23, at 6pm in 1 Police Plaza.