{"id":3246,"date":"2026-06-29T11:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3246"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:07:14","slug":"a-hochul-fix-to-nys-e-bike-law-plus-mamdani-enforcement-can-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3246","title":{"rendered":"A Hochul fix to NY’s e-bike law \u2014 plus Mamdani enforcement \u2014 can save lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Last week, victims of serious e-bike crashes\u00a0sued Mayor Zohran Mamdani, charging that, in ending criminal enforcement against e-bike\u00a0drivers\u00a0breaking traffic laws,\u00a0the mayor has unilaterally \u201crewritten\u201d state\u00a0policy.<\/p>\n

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Rather than relying on the courts to force the mayor to act,\u00a0though, Gov. Kathy Hochul must step in to protect pedestrians and pedal cyclists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0lawsuit makes for harrowing reading.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bonnie Gerard, 83, was on an Upper East Side sidewalk\u00a0in\u00a0October 2023\u00a0when an e-bike driver hit her, knocking her into a garbage can and causing a\u00a0serious\u00a0head and leg injury.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberta Simon was walking in a Central Park pedestrian lane in August\u00a02024\u00a0when an e-bike driver struck her, causing a brain injury that required surgery.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harvey Goldberg, 75, was\u00a0riding a\u00a0Citi Bike\u00a0in the Second Avenue\u00a0bike lane when an\u00a0e-bike hit him, knocking him out and breaking a bone.<\/p>\n

These\u00a0stories are backed by data.\u00a0In\u00a02024,\u00a0six pedestrians\u00a0died<\/em> in crashes involving motorized two-wheelers, a category\u00a0so new that it was\u00a0the first year\u00a0the city reported\u00a0it\u00a0separately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Serious injuries \u2014\u00a0for\u00a0pedestrians and e-bike drivers\u00a0\u2014\u00a0have soared.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs, represented by former independent\u00a0mayoral candidate Jim Walden,\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want money (beyond legal fees).<\/p>\n

They just want a judge to direct Mamdani to reverse a policy he started\u00a0in March.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s\u00a0March directive\u00a0was to end a\u00a0nearly year-old\u00a0initiative\u00a0begun\u00a0by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch under the Adams administration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Starting last April, the NYPD began writing\u00a0criminal summonses to reckless e-bikers rather than traffic tickets.<\/p>\n

Tisch made this decision after seeing that e-bikers were ignoring\u00a0civil tickets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani was wrong to stop criminal enforcement, and he should resume such summonsing\u00a0before more people die.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But that\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0fix the original sin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

State 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\u00a0<\/em>vehicles, not human-powered vehicles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But New York state\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0require\u00a0their drivers \u2014 and they\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>drivers, 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

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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\u00a0<\/em>way 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

\n<\/div>\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\u00a0<\/em>cyclists 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\u00a0<\/em>to counsel:\u00a0pedal\u00a0a bicycle!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute\u2019s City Journal.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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E-bike crash victims\u00a0sued Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his order in ending criminal enforcement against e-bike\u00a0drivers\u00a0who break traffic laws,\u00a0but rather than relying on the courts to force the mayor to act,\u00a0Gov. Kathy Hochul must step in to protect pedestrians and pedal cyclists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nA Hochul fix to NY's e-bike law \u2014 plus Mamdani enforcement \u2014 can save lives - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3246\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Hochul fix to NY's e-bike law \u2014 plus Mamdani enforcement \u2014 can save lives - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"E-bike crash victims\u00a0sued Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his order in ending criminal enforcement against e-bike\u00a0drivers\u00a0who break traffic laws,\u00a0but rather than relying on the courts to force the mayor to act,\u00a0Gov. 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