Nobody expects walking in New York City to be a walk in the park, but the experience has become exponentially more dangerous thanks to reckless e-bike riders who increasingly aren\u2019t held accountable \u2014 even when they break the law.<\/p>\n
E-bike collisions, which can cause serious injury or even death, have increased almost 32% this year compared to 2025, according to<\/a> NYPD data, with more than 500 crashes to date.<\/p>\n This past March, the mayor rescinded the<\/a> NYPD\u2019s ability to issue criminal summons to lawless e-bike riders. City Hall pledged to improve safety through other measures, but the alarming rise in collisions makes clear this hands-off approach isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n Now the mayor is adding insult to injury by asking voters to approve a ballot measure that would fast-track so-called \u201cstreet safety projects,\u201d including new bike lanes, while giving the public less of a say.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be clear: Adding more bike lanes to an already chaotic streetscape without ensuring a commonsense regulatory framework of licensing and registration is in place, such as what Priscilla\u2019s Law proposes<\/a>, is a recipe for disaster and puts New Yorkers at greater risk.<\/p>\n After one tragic death involving a horse carriage<\/a>, the city is finally moving to ban<\/a> horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. Yet when it comes to e-bikes, the city is creating even more opportunities for the death toll to mount.<\/p>\n A lawsuit challenging the Mamdani administration\u2019s senseless e-bike policy is making its way through the courts.<\/p>\n I was proud to be the lead plaintiff in the suit, filed this past June<\/a>, to help protect vulnerable New Yorkers like my fellow plaintiff and Staten Islander Walter Matuza, who is legally blind and at great risk of being mowed down by a rogue e-biker. I joined the suit in my personal capacity because, as I said at the time and still strongly believe, I\u2019m a pedestrian before I\u2019m a councilmember.<\/p>\n Even as City Hall has launched a seven-figure, taxpayer funded campaign<\/a> in favor of this and four other ballot measures, a national health data and analytics company, Truveta, released alarming figures<\/a> that show emergency room visits tied to e-bike injuries jumped by 1,810% for children and 760% overall.<\/p>\n Prop 3, the third of the five ballot proposals, would let the Department of Transportation (DOT) begin construction on street projects in an expedited manner<\/a> while dramatically curtailing public input. The proposal also gives the city a legal cushion by limiting what a court can order if it skips a step in the process.<\/p>\n That\u2019s no way to run a city, especially when a glaring safety problem is staring us in the face.<\/p>\n