NYC Common Sense Statement on Mayor Mamdani’s E-Bike Announcements
NYC Common Sense released the following statement in response to the Mayor’s cease-and-desist letters to companies like Amazon and Temu regarding illegal e-bikes, as well as his comments today in opposition to requiring e-bike riders to hold licenses:
“Cracking down on illegal devices is a good start, but it’s the tip of the iceberg. The larger problem is the legal e-bikes on our streets — unlicensed, unregistered, and untraceable — which make it nearly impossible to identify a reckless rider, let alone hold one accountable.
“Opposing licenses for e-bike riders, on top of this administration’s decision to suspend criminal summonses, means accepting a Wild West on our streets and sidewalks.
“Blaming big companies while refusing to build a system that can identify e-bike riders who break the law and put pedestrians and fellow riders at risk is not a comprehensive safety policy; it is merely putting a band-aid on a gaping wound.”
NYC Common Sense’s lawsuit challenging the Mayor’s decision to halt criminal summonses for e-bike violations is available here.
NYC Common Sense Statement on the New York City Council’s Proposed E-Bike Safety Package
NYC Common Sense released the following statement regarding the New York City Council’s proposed e-bike safety package:
“NYC Common Sense thanks the City Council for prioritizing community safety and turning its attention to the e-bike safety crisis. However, without a comprehensive system of licensing and registration, as proposed under Priscilla’s Law, any effort to improve enforcement will certainly fall short.
“You can’t hold an anonymous rider responsible for breaking the law and endangering lives. Someone who runs a red light or rides off after a crash leaves no plate to report. Licensing and registration is a commonsense approach that other jurisdictions — most recently New Jersey — have embraced. New York City should follow suit, and fast, before the next deadly incident occurs.
“In March, the Mayor barred police from writing criminal summonses for e-bike violations, overruling his own Police Commissioner — even though crashes, injuries, and deaths had each fallen about 30 percent under her policy. Because of this, NYC Common Sense, along with nine New Yorkers, sued the Mayor in his official capacity to bring back this policy.
“Absent a licensing and registration system, criminal summonses are admittedly less effective, but they were the best tool available to hold reckless e-bike riders accountable.”
NYC Common Sense Statement on Death of Teenage E-Bike Rider in Lower Manhattan
NYC Common Sense released the following statement regarding the death of a 17-year-old e-bike rider at Centre and Chambers streets in Lower Manhattan:
“In the wake of the tragic death of a teenager at an intersection mere blocks from City Hall, local officials and safety advocates are rightly calling for stricter enforcement of the ban on the sale of high-speed illegal e-bikes. We 100 percent agree with their call, but it’s imperative that the work does not stop there.
“The threat is far greater than illegal e-bikes alone. A host of entirely legal e-bikes are unregulated, uninsured, and unregistered, operated by riders who routinely flout the law with no fear of recourse. When a bike carries no registration and its rider holds no license, the streets turn into the Wild West.
“New York City needs a holistic framework: registration, licensing, insurance, real limits on speed and illegal modification, and enforcement with teeth behind all of it.
“It is for this reason that we went to court in June to challenge the Mamdani administration’s decision to end criminal enforcement of e-bike traffic laws — enforcement under which crashes, injuries and fatalities had each fallen by roughly 30 percent.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and pledge to work tirelessly with all stakeholders – including, hopefully, City Hall – to make the city’s streets, sidewalks, parks, and public spaces safer for all.”
NYC Common Sense Statement on City Hall’s 13-Minute Documentary, Union of Pinnacle Tenants
NYC Common Sense released the following statement regarding City Hall’s 13-Minute Documentary, Union of Pinnacle Tenants:
“New Yorkers elected a mayor, not a Hollywood producer. The administration should, of course, communicate with New Yorkers, and transparency and accessibility are essential. But when an undisclosed sum of public dollars is used to create a video narrated by a well-documented extremist in an effort clearly intended to generate viral attention, priorities have become recklessly misplaced.
“Good governance is about delivering real solutions to real problems, not merely generating headlines. As the city grapples with an ever-worsening deficit, City Hall should be vigilant about the appropriate use of taxpayer funds. Making short films does not clean the streets or keep New Yorkers safe or even make the buses faster.
“NYC Common Sense has filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the Mayor’s Office to determine how much money was spent on this project because New Yorkers deserve to know how this administration is spending their hard-earned tax dollars. We look forward to hearing from the city and publishing the related documentation once we receive it.”
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