(potholes and truck traffic)  The summons has my birthdate listed as
6-21-04 which is actually the issue date of my license.  My question
is should how should I fight this when I go to court?  Should I say
the ticket was improperly filled out or should I simply say that the
road was unsafe to ride on at that section of the street?

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 13 Oct 2005 09:59 PDT

I assume you are looking for an OPINION. Is that correct?

tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Question by jasbury-ga on 13 Oct 2005 13:38 PDT

The summons was for reckless operation of a bicycle.  I was riding on
the sidewalk for a three block stretch because of the dangerous
conditions of the road and traffic.

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Clarification of Question by jasbury-ga on 13 Oct 2005 20:12 PDT

Unfortunately, the violation sec./sub is in the crease of the ticket
and not recognizable.  It looks like sec. 14 sub. 128, but I wouldn't
bet on it.

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Clarification of Question by jasbury-ga on 20 Oct 2005 09:56 PDT

I discovered that the administrative code # is Chapter 1, title 19 sub. 3, 19-176.

What is the code of violation?  This should be mentioned somewhere on
the ticket.  Please provide us with some more information and it will
result in further analysis.

That sounds like the standard situation in NYC from a cyclist's point
of view  - and a healthy one -  but that doesn't excuse riding on the
sidewalk.
In Germany, a violation on a bike could be registered against one's
driver's license.

FYI-Red Hook Brooklyn is no Germany!  Bike paths and biker friendly
drivers of Germany are a stark contrast from potholed roads and
semi-trucks speeding at you and behind you.  The sidewalk was in an
industrial neighborhood by the docks and not one pedestrian walked by
in the 30 minutes I waited for the ticket.

I suppose you could find a high powered attorney for a few thousand
dollars who would successfully fight the ticket on this technicality.

I recently had to pay a $90 ticket for cycling without a helmet.

The law really should be easier on bikers, many of whom ride more out
of necessity than enjoyment (myself included).

Tickets can only be dismissed for flaws on the basis that the flaws
somehow impeach the officer's credibility with regards to the ticket. 
So if s/he got the color of your car wrong, it might mean that the
officer has the wrong car.

But it seems like the incorrect birthdate is easily explainable (since
the day is right...just the year is wrong.), and if the rest of the
information is exactly correct, there's no reason to believe that the
ticket would not stand.