Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration is putting more than 40 online retailers on notice, alleging that they are illegally selling motorized two-wheeled devices they falsely market as e-bikes — and giving them until Aug. 18 to halt the practice or risk facing up to $2,000 fines.

The mayor announced on Wednesday that city Corporation Counsel Steve Banks sent the 42 online stores a cease-and-desist letter. The missive demands that they immediately stop selling devices that can go above legal New York City e-bike and e-scooter speed and power limits to residents of the city’s 175 ZIP codes. It comes after recent deadly incidents involving the illegal two-wheelers, one of which claimed the life of a 17-year-old boy near City Hall last month.

Among the 42 firms that received the letter are large-scale retailers that sell a variety of items, such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, as well as firms that specialize in electric micromobility devices, such as Deepower, Segway, and Wilson’s.

An e-bike rider rides on Centre Street in Lower Manhattan. Wednesday, Aug. 5 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

The action aims to stop the continued proliferation of devices that can exceed legal speed and power limits for e-bikes and e-scooters, which are far more likely to cause deadly crashes on city streets.

Mamdani, during an Aug. 5 City Hall press conference in which he announced the action, said the responsibility for ensuring that illegal devices are not hitting the roads should be on the companies selling them rather than riders looking for a fast and cost-efficient means of transportation. He charged that those companies know the law and are choosing to break it anyway.

“We’re going to go after those websites and retailers that are willfully selling illegal vehicles to New Yorkers,” he said. “It should not have to be up to each New Yorker to know every single line of New York City law. We know the law very clearly. These retailers know the law very clearly, and if they don’t, they have two weeks to learn it before we start to hold them accountable.”

The mayor said the letter also calls on the companies to meet with officials from the NYPD, the city Department of Transportation, and the Law Department to end their sale of the illegal devices in the city.

Companies that do not comply by Aug. 18, the missive warns, risk facing up to a $2,000 fine for each individual infraction.

But Banks, who was also present at the event, said the administration will also weigh whether to take those who continue to flout the law to court.

“If we get to the deadline and everybody complies, that is a great result,” Banks said. “If people want to not follow up and comply, we’ll take legal action. That could include fines. That could include bringing litigation to stop the advertisements that are resulting in people purchasing things they think are legal.”

City Coporation Counsel Steve Banks sent a cease-and-desist letter to over 40 companies selling motorized micromobility devices illegally marketed as e-bikes and e-scooters. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Mamdani said the letter is a direct response to the death of Gabriel Nacato last week. The 17-year-old was killed when he collided with an SUV driver while riding an illegal e-moto device in Lower Manhattan.

Nacato was riding a Deepower QS7, which the company describes on its website as an e-bike, despite it not legally qualifying as one in the city. The device weighs 100 pounds, can reach a top speed of 30 mph, and has a 1500-watt motor — exceeding both the 25 mph top-speed limit and the 750-watt power limit for e-bikes in the five boroughs.

During the event, City Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said such devices are “motorcycles being marketed to New Yorkers as bicycles.”

“They’re heavier and faster than e-bikes and more difficult to control,” he added.

Following the crash, state Attorney General Letitia James, who joined Mamdani on Wednesday, issued a consumer alert last week reminding companies selling the devices and consumers alike that they are illegal.

Both Mamdani and Flynn also referenced an incident earlier this year on the Queensborough Bridge during which the rider of an illegal motorized scooter capable of reaching 53 mph collided with a bicycle rider — killing them both. Legally, e-scooters in the city cannot exceed 20 mph and cannot weigh more than 100 pounds.

“We’re talking about vehicles that can go sometimes more than double the legal limit of the speed. It’s not one or two miles over,” Mamdani said.

Illegal devices have been involved in the majority of e-book and e-scooter fatalities over the past several years, according to DOT.

Between 2017 and last year, 45 rider deaths involved unlawful e-bikes that could surpass the legal top speed of 25 mph, representing 54% of all e-bike deaths during that period. Similarly, 14 e-scooter deaths over the same period involved devices that could go past the 20 mph legal top speed — accounting for 52% of all e-scooter deaths over that time.

Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson (left), Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Safe streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, which has been leading the charge for cracking down on the sale of illegal e-bikes and e-scooters, lauded Mamdani’s cease-and-desist letter on Wednesday.

“Online retailers have been preying on unwitting customers. It is cruel and unacceptable to sell dangerous, illegal high-speed electric motorcycles or scooters to New Yorkers who think they’re buying something legal,” said Ben Furnas, the group’s executive director, in a statement.

“As we’ve seen as recently as last week, this shady business practice has had deadly results. It has to end,” he added.

Mamdani’s announcement comes on the heels of the City Council unveiling a suite of legislation that also aims to stem dangerous crashes involving e-bikes. One such bill would ban the sale of e-bikes that can reach 25 mph with throttle assistance, known as Class Three e-bikes, while others seek to better regulate app companies that employ e-bike riding delivery workers.

Asked about the legislative package, Mamdani did not comment on any specific proposal, but said, “We are looking at a wide variety of avenues of how to take action on this issue, and that includes working with the council on legislation that has been introduced prior, as well as on the legislation that was recently introduced.”