Members of the Staten Island Bikers — a mix of teachers, engineers, radio hosts and even police officers — go through an arduous vetting process. This includes F.B.I. fingerprint searches commonly used by the Army, 12 months of training and three months of observation. (And yes, members must own a motorcycle.)
The group raises money in ways you’d expect, such as through coin jars outside grocery stores, and in ways you wouldn’t, like fund-raisers with male strippers. Its annual budget of a few thousand dollars goes to its phone bill and resources for the children, like therapy sessions or cheerleading camp.
Every member has a role: Demo (Mr. Contreras), as the president, enforces international bylaws; Shortcut, the vice president and road captain, runs daily operations and an annual 100-mile training ride; Quikfix, the secretary, takes notes and checks attendance; DJ, the treasurer, handles the money; and Diesel, the sergeant-at-arms, trains the Biker’s security team. He drives a truck plastered with bumper stickers. One reads “LGBT: liberty, guns, beer, Trump.”
(While Staten Island residents overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections, and some of the Bikers reflect those allegiances, liberal or conservative beliefs do not affect membership. “We don’t become political,” Mr. Contreras said.)
As part of the training, Diesel, the security guy, surprises new members with a call at midnight to show up for an “emergency,” only to send them home as a test of their commitment. Members who fail to show up are kicked off the squad.
Because, of course, there are real emergencies. Emmi, 17, a typical-looking teenager with ripped jeans and statement nails — and whose mother requested her last name be withheld for security reasons — knows all about them. Five years ago, her parents had an altercation, resulting in her father shooting a gun through her mother’s apartment window, she recalled. The mother, who said she was hesitant to call the police because the father was in a gang and she feared repercussions, called the Bikers.