{"id":313949,"date":"2026-08-05T01:32:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313949\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T01:32:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:32:28","slug":"city-council-leaders-call-on-state-to-emulate-new-jerseys-flawed-e-bike-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313949\/","title":{"rendered":"City Council Leaders Call on State to Emulate New Jersey’s Flawed E-Bike Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-Upper East Side) called on Albany to pass its own version of New Jersey\u2019s flawed e-bike registration law<\/a> on Tuesday as she unveiled plans to hold a Sept. 30 mega-hearing to consider no less than 17 possible responses to the e-micromobility boom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Jersey began requiring licenses, registration and insurance for all e-bike riders last month. At a \u201cmajor transportation announcement\u201d outside City Hall on Tuesday, Menin endorsed a forthcoming resolution by Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Upper West Side) that will apparently cite the controversial law. The speaker also emphasized that only state legislators, not city lawmakers, can regulate e-bikes.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Brewer\u2019s resolution] calls for the state to do that law,\u201d Menin told reporters as she announced plans to hold the September mega-hearing. \u201cJust like New Jersey did. New Jersey passed it. It\u2019s a state issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Menin did not explicitly endorse most of those 17 bills, which run the gamut from requiring delivery app companies like DoorDash and UberEats to be licensed by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, to prohibiting<\/a> the sale and rental of 25 mile-per-hour throttled-powered \u201cClass 3\u201d e-bikes.<\/p>\n

New Jersey\u2019s new e-bike laws<\/a> added significant bureaucratic hurdles<\/a> for anyone who wants to ride an e-bike in the Garden State, regardless of the speed of that bike. Riders with disabilities have expressed concerns about needing to pass the state licensing test, while e-bike owners have struggled<\/a> to find insurance companies that offer e-bike policies. The Bergen Record recently ran an editorial<\/a> that called on New Jersey lawmakers to revisit and revise the \u201crushed\u201d legislation.<\/p>\n

Menin spokesman Henry Robins insisted the speaker does not support \u201canything on the city level that puts the onus on the individual,\u201d but did not clarify whether she wants the state to copy New Jersey\u2019s \u201ctoughest in the nation\u201d law word-for-word. <\/p>\n

Every New Yorker deserves to move around our city freely and safely, regardless of how they get around.<\/p>\n

But too many people have been seriously injured or killed in crashes involving illegal e-bikes, e-motos, and e-scooters.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the @NYCCouncil<\/a> is launching a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/vYgkJfEwSA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Speaker Julie Menin (@SpeakerMenin) August 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

In her comments, the speaker cited an existing resolution introduced by Brewer that only called for state licensing of commercial e-bikes. Robins later clarified that Brewer planned to introduce another resolution for the Sept. 30 hearing. That new resolution will call for licensing of all e-bikes \u2014 raising the total number of bills on the day\u2019s docket to 18 (and counting).<\/p>\n

Brewer, who also claimed inspiration from New Jersey on Tuesday, balked when Streetsblog asked her whether she wanted New York to pass the same law as the Garden State. She told reporters she would not support any bill opposed by delivery worker Los Deliveristas Unidos \u2014 even though LDU has opposed<\/a> universal licensing requirements. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m open to ideas,\u201d Brewer told Streetsblog after the press conference. \u201cI am always worried about the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Absent from the press conference, however, was any mention of the road violence caused by car drivers \u2014 who accounted<\/a> for the vast majority of the e-bike injuries cited by Menin and her colleagues.<\/p>\n

Many cycling advocates oppose e-bike licensing and registration bills, which they argue<\/a> discourage cycling without actually ensuring safety. After all, drivers must be licensed and have their cars registered, yet continue to wreak havoc<\/a> on city streets.<\/p>\n

\"\"Council Speaker Julie Menin announcing her e-bike oversight hearing on Tuesday. Photo: Sophia Lebowitz<\/p>\n

The press conference followed two recent deadly crashes involving illegal<\/a> electric micromobility devices. On July 29, a teenager who was riding an illegal Deepower e-moto died<\/a> in a collision with an SUV driver near City Hall. And two men, including one on an illegal e-scooter, died in a\u00a0head-on collision<\/a>\u00a0on the Queensboro Bridge in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst tragedies are caused by devices that are not legal to operate on our streets,\u201d said Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, who chairs the body\u2019s Committee on Transportation. \u201cWe cannot keep burying New Yorkers because a company decided profit was worth more than safety,\u201d<\/p>\n

Abreu told Streetsblog he supports including Brewer\u2019s resolution in the Sept. 30 mega-hearing, but hedged on what type of regulatory action the state should take.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t think licensing and registering is going to make a difference at the local level for the reasons that have been mentioned,\u201d he told Streetsblog. \u201cTo the extent that [e-bike licensing] should happen, it should be done at the state level. But my support is for the hearing only.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n \t\"OPINION:
\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Illegal e-motos and e-scooters<\/a> are typically manufactured with cheap parts like manual brakes. They can easily switch into \u201coff-road modes\u201d that reach speeds of 30 to 60 mph and are simple to buy<\/a> online and assemble at home.<\/p>\n

New York Attorney General Letitia James recently issued a consumer alert<\/a> to warn New Yorkers about the proliferation of these falsely-marketed vehicles and remind sellers of the law. Abreu said the Council would explore new methods of enforcement against these illegal devices, like dynamometers<\/a>, which are used by European cities with\u00a0strict laws<\/a>\u00a0around e-bikes and scooters to test a vehicle\u2019s maximum speed and power.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of folks who buy these devices think that they\u2019re actually legal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re working to strengthen consumer protection laws to inform the buyers literally on the bikes themselves that they\u2019re buying an illegal device, and we\u2019re hoping that that awareness will make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n