Volunteer Profile: Shane Kadidal

Occupation: Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.
T.A. member since: Around 1996.
What neighborhood do you live in? East Village
Why did you join T.A.? I signed up for the 1996 T.A. Century Ride. I remember asking whether Fifth Avenue would be closed, and the woman said, "No, it's a consciousness raising ride. It's designed to show you that you can ride on open streets." I kind of dug that, and I joined a little later.
Describe your volunteer activity. I've been working with the T.A. staff fighting the City DOT's plan to install a chain link fence along the whole length of the Queensboro Bridge bike path. We've put together a submission to the Landmarks Protection Commission and are planning a lawsuit depending on how things play out.
Why should the DOT remove the chain link fence on the QBB? Mainly because it's ugly. It'll make the bike path look like Camp X-Ray on Guantanamo. Cyclists shouldn't be treated like enemy combatants. But the aesthetics are important for practical purposes: no one wants to use a path that looks like a prison recreation yard. It makes the path seem dangerous, and that means fewer people will use it.
What are the biggest obstacles in dealing with the City and City agencies? Overcoming bureaucratic inertia, mostly. I'm used to dealing with this. Dealing with a fossilized bureaucracy is a big part of the litigation and regulatory work I do in defense of the right to international travel (primarily to Cuba). But I'm sure that the Landmarks Commission will be more receptive than OFAC at Treasury …
What are the benefits of volunteering? You get to meet the people at T.A.
What were your reasons for getting involved? I read Jane Jacobs and Caro's bio of Robert Moses in law school and have wanted to do some work in this field ever since.
What are some upcoming projects you plan to do with T.A.? Hopefully we'll get a chance to work on the legal aspects of tolling the East River bridges.
If you could take control of New York for a day, what would you do? Wrap Central Park in fabric. Toll the East River bridges.
What are some of your thoughts on T.A.? They do a lot of the thinking and planning that the government is supposed to do, with a lot less money.

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