SOHO ALLIANCE E-Bike Menace Addressed (Sean Sweeney)

Excellent run down of the E-Bike menace.Bills to support.Adversaries of public safety cited****************** With the explosion of food delivery services, the SoHo Alliance has been fielding calls from residents upset with the dangerous proliferation of rogue electric bikes, mopeds and scooters careening on our streets, sidewalks and bike lanes. Not only do these daredevil e-bikers instill fear in pedestrians, they have injured countless individuals and even killed several people. Something has to be done to rein in these cowboys. Click here to read just a few news reports from thevillagesun.com of deaths and injuries reported locally. But this menace is a city-wide problem that needs a city-wide solution. Fortunately, a citywide organization, the NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, EVSA, has formed to lobby to get these outlaw riders under control. EVSA demands stricter enforcement of existing traffic laws, something the Adams administration seems reluctant to do. if you want to do something about this problem, follow the organization on Twitter https://twitter.com/nyc_evsa or email EVSA at nyc-evsa@outlook.com to get involved. ************************************************************************************************************************ Legislatively, action is being taken on the state and city levels. State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Tony Simone have introduced three pieces of legislation in Albany to regulate e-bikes. Their first bill would require e-vehicles used by commercial delivery apps, like Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash, to be licensed, making it much easier to identify lawless riders. One reason for the reckless behavior by the delivery workers is that they are under pressure from the companies to deliver the goods ASAP, safety notwithstanding. The second bill requires the companies to provide insurance for their delivery workers, so that the injured would have some recourse to compensation. Thirdly, if an e-bike is involved in a hit-and-run, the penalties should be the same as for automobile hit-and-runs. Currently, these penalties differ considerably and this bill would rectify that disparity. Let the senator know you support his legislation. Email his office at hoylman@nysenate.gov or send an official message to his website, here. Assemblymember Alex Bores and State Senator Liz Krueger have introduced legislation that would require any moped or motorcycle to be registered and have a license plate at the time of purchase. In the City Council, Queens Councilmember Robert Holden has introduced a similar bill, Intro. 0758-2022, to register and license e-bikes with the City Department of Transportation. Supporting this bill would seem like a no-brainer. However, a cohort of lobbyists that includes Transportation Alternatives, Los Deliveristas Unidos, the Street Vendors Project, and Open Plans (the group pushing the outdoor eating sheds as well as closing off streets in SoHo) oppose this sensible legislation since it interferes with their "vision" of New York, disregarding the safety of the public. To support the City Council legislation, email Councilmember Holden's office District30@council.nyc.gov and voice your support for his efforts to control these reckless riders and protect the rest of us. Saving people's lives and limbs is more important than having a pizza delivered in under fifteen minutes.