that\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0fix the original sin<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nState policy is broken beyond the scope of this lawsuit, because, in\u00a02020,\u00a0then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u00a0made the mistake of\u00a0legalizing\u00a0e-bikes and stand-up scooters, after vetoing a similar bill a year before\u00a0over safety worries.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was vintage late\u00a0Cuomo, terrified of progressives: pass\u00a0bills\u00a0on complicated topics\u00a0in the state budget, and ask questions later.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The problem is that e-bikes are\u00a0motor\u00a0vehicles, not human-powered vehicles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But New York state\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0require\u00a0their drivers \u2014 and they\u00a0are\u00a0drivers, not \u201criders\u201d \u2014\u00a0to carry licenses, registration or insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York City cannot start its own DMV to\u00a0accomplish\u00a0these tasks, although\u00a0City Council Speaker Julie Menin\u00a0should\u00a0corral\u00a0moderate members to\u00a0signal\u00a0that\u00a0they\u2019d\u00a0like the state to act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Signal\u00a0or not, Hochul\u00a0and state lawmakers\u00a0must\u00a0act. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Start\u00a0with fleets: licensing,\u00a0registration\u00a0and easily identifiable plating for\u00a0delivery\u00a0e-bikes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nobody should be making a\u00a0delivery without meeting such requirements \u2014 and civilian enforcement teams could fan out near delivery-destination hubs, like banks at weekday dinner times, to ensure compliance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Citibike, too. Just as you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0rent a car without verifying\u00a0insurance,\u00a0Citibike, owned by ride-hail firm Lyft,\u00a0should either carry full liability insurance for its\u00a0casual\u00a0e-bike users for an extra per-ride fee, or verify that\u00a0users\u00a0have other insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For civilian drivers of their own e-bikes, Hochul\u00a0could\u00a0gradually\u00a0work with the insurance industry to create a new class of coverage,\u00a0perhaps an\u00a0inexpensive addition to auto, homeowners or renters\u2019 insurance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
E-bike licensing\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have to be as onerous as getting a full driver\u2019s license; a day-long class, even online, for a new class of license could suffice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But New York state needs\u00a0some\u00a0way of\u00a0identifying\u00a0and tracking e-bike drivers, just as it\u00a0identifies\u00a0and tracks car and truck drivers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, a\u00a0cop\u00a0often\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0have to\u00a0chase down\u00a0a reckless e-biker on a sidewalk; he could snap the plate and connect it to a delivery fleet or to\u00a0Citibike\u00a0to issue a violation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The state should also force commercial fleets, including\u00a0Citibike, to geofence their e-bikes, prohibiting them from exceeding the speed limit or operating\u00a0on pedestrian paths.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Should Hochul act,\u00a0she\u2019ll\u00a0hear no end of it from organized \u201ccycling\u201d advocates.<\/p>\n
Their\u00a0preferred stand-in for the average e-cyclist\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0Brooklyn\u00a0mom who uses her e-bike to take her kids to school, following all traffic laws.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And\u00a0Hochul would\u00a0be deluged by delivery-app\u00a0lobbyists, who\u2019ll whine that customers will be denied their constitutional right to get their food fast.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But\u00a0disorganized\u00a0cyclists are just as fed up\u00a0as\u00a0pedestrians with the reckless e-bike takeover of bike lanes.<\/p>\n
And anyone who wants to avoid\u00a0the\u00a0licensing, registration and insurance that come with operating a motor vehicle, and the cost and the scrutiny that\u00a0accompany\u00a0such requirements, can do what \u201ccycling\u201d advocates\u00a0used\u00a0to counsel:\u00a0pedal\u00a0a bicycle!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute\u2019s City Journal.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, victims of serious e-bike crashes\u00a0sued Mayor Zohran Mamdani, charging that, in ending criminal enforcement against e-bike\u00a0drivers\u00a0breaking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[80,10483,26675,419,13319,5302,426,9,11,10,49,51,50,299,20225,82],"class_list":["post-281864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-bikes","tag-citi-bike","tag-courts","tag-insurance","tag-jessica-tisch","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-opinion","tag-progressives","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/123953963.jpg\")
The March 19, 2026, cover of The Post. <\/p>\n