New York City Council

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, City Council colleagues and advocates announced a new review of e-bike and e-scooter safety on City Hall steps Tuesday. Sahalie Donaldson

As the New York City Council moves to consider a suite of bills aimed at making e-bikes and e-scooters safer, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his priority is to crackdown on vehicles that are already classified as illegal. 

“My first focus frankly is that which is already illegal. How to ensure that no customer is duped into believing that (an illegal e-bike)  is an appropriate way to be moving around the city,” he told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday when asked whether there were any currently legal models he thinks should be illegal. “It is hard for New Yorkers to keep up with what is legal or illegal if they’re able to buy it online.” 

His comments came as City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced that the legislative body would launch a sweeping review of how the city can better govern the use of e-bikes and e-scooters following a string of serious crashes, several of which resulted in deaths. Many of the 17 bills that Menin said would be part of the review are in line with Mamdani’s position to focus on the already illegal vehicles. One bill would introduce a trade-in program for riders to swap illegal models with safer ones, another would require delivery companies to register for commercial licenses – thus providing the city with stronger oversight and enforcement tools – and another would establish a task force to study how to make street infrastructure safer.

At least one measure, however, would explicitly prohibit the sale and rental of class three e-bikes, also known as pedal-assist bicycles, which are currently legal in the city. 

As for the rest of the package, which will be heard at a Sept. 30 hearing, Mamdani said he’d wait to see the specifics of the proposals before taking a stance. “It is critically important that safety is something that each and every New York has, no matter what mode of transportation they use,” he said. “That continues to be a focus for us.”

The use of e-bikes and e-scooters is a highly charged issue in New York City, one on which Menin is positioning herself as a champion. On Tuesday, she posted a short-form video in which she said New Yorkers are “demanding action” on the topic. “Well the City Council is ready to act,” she said.   

“We cannot wait again for tragedy to strike to become advocates for public safety,” Menin said at a press conference Tuesday morning. “We owe New Yorkers streets that are safer to bike, safer to walk, safer to drive.”