I am the biker wearing a surveillance camera. I feel empowered and protected by the possibility of having proof. The camera I am wearing is very visible, the body is cylindrical and sits on the side of my head, has a red light at the center of the glass hole when it is recording, and straps across my forehead. For this project I wanted to use a device that is visible and discrete.
Today reminds me of an experience I had in 2012, when I rode year round and was very accustomed to being on a bike in the streets of NYC. The video "Not a Pleasant Ride Home" is not me, but is almost exactly what happened to me, except I was ran off the road several times by a yellow school bus filled with children. The tire was chest high in comparison to my body. At that time I wished I had a body cam, and the experience scared me enough to make me take a break from riding. I still avoid riding down Bedford Ave in the Hasidic neighborhood. I was interviewed by the Brooklyn Paper, which received a slurry of racist comments against Hasidic Jewish people, which made me regret adding my voice to the article.