Mayor Zohran Mamdani would not commit to removing dangerous e-bikes from city streets or support legislation requiring the vehicles to be registered \u2014 even as he acknowledged the danger posed by the motorcycle-like machines.<\/p>\n
Instead, Mamdani announced at a City Hall press conference Wednesday that his administration had issued cease-and-desist orders to 42 online retailers illegally selling high-speed e-bikes and scooters in New York City, threatening $2,000 fines per illegal sale if the retailers don\u2019t comply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot and will not accept these dangerous vehicles on our city streets. And yet, the companies that sell these vehicles continue to market them to New Yorkers who trust that the product they are purchasing is legal in the city that they call home,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced cease-and-desist orders against online retailers accused of illegally selling high-speed e-bikes, stand-up e-scooters, and other motorized devices. Matt Roberts\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
The announcement came a day after City Council Speaker Julie Menin unveiled a slate of legislation<\/a> aimed at cracking down on lawless e-bikers, arguing the city\u2019s existing laws aren\u2019t being properly enforced. <\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s order targets future sales of three categories of illegal devices: stand-up scooters weighing over 100 pounds or capable of exceeding 20 miles per hour; e-bikes with motors bigger than 750 watts or able to hit speeds above 25 miles per hour; and seated mopeds lacking a valid vehicle identification number.<\/p>\n But Mamdani demurred when asked whether he would direct his administration to go after vehicles that have already been sold.<\/p>\n \u201cFor now, this is our focus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The cease-and-desist order requires retailers to comply by Aug. 18.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani said his administration would conduct ongoing inspections of both online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores to ensure compliance after that deadline.<\/p>\n A Department of Transportation spokesperson could not say how many retailer inspections the agency had conducted this year since Mamdani took office, nor could the spokesperson clarify which agency is responsible for tracking those inspections.<\/p>\n City Council Speaker Julie Menin unveiled a slate of legislation Tuesday aimed at cracking down on lawless e-bikers, arguing the city\u2019s existing laws aren\u2019t being properly enforced. William Farrington for The NY Post<\/p>\n The mayor also declined to support legislation requiring e-bikes and scooters to be registered \u2014 a step that safety advocates said would make it easier to hold reckless riders accountable with traffic cameras or bystander footage.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not believe that would actually improve street safety, and that\u2019s not an approach I would pursue,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance said \u201chell no\u201d the mayor hasn\u2019t done enough to protect New Yorkers from the souped-up e-bikes barreling through the city\u2019s bike lane network.<\/p>\n \u201cHell no. It was an impotent response by the mayor that does nothing to get the highly dangerous illegal e-vehicles off the street,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n A 17-year-old on an e-bike was fatally struck by an SUV in the bike lane exit from the Brooklyn Bridge at Centre Street and Chambers Street last week. William Farrington for The NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cHe would not commit to enforcement or e-vehicle registration,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cWe are left with the same failed policies that created this deadly public health crisis, which has plagued the city for five years. Look at ER stats \u2014 it is crystal clear that e-vehicle trauma admissions are only increasing, all while the mayor does absolutely nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n The illegal rides were responsible for more than half of all e-bike rider deaths since 2017, according to the mayor\u2019s office, and an NYU Langone study, published in April, found that \u201cmicromobility\u201d crashes grew from under 10% of bike and scooter trauma cases in 2018 to more than half by 2023 \u2014 and now account for nearly 7% of all trauma admissions at the hospital.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s own DOT commissioner, Mike Flynn \u2014 who stood beside the mayor at the press conference \u2014 acknowledged the scope of the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cThere are illegal devices on our streets that are causing confusion and creating safety risks,\u201d Flynn said.<\/p>\n A 17-year-old riding an illegal Deepower QS7 was killed<\/a> near the Brooklyn Bridge after colliding with a parked SUV in Lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n A jogger in Central Park last month spent weeks in a coma after being struck by an e-bike<\/a>.<\/p>\n