NYPD cracking down on illegal scooters, ATVs across New York City
NEW YORK CITY -- New York City has begun a renewed crackdown on scooters and motorbikes in the wake of the shooting of two officers by a suspect on a scooter.
Authorities went back to the same precinct, the 115th, where the officers were shot and seized 74 bikes and making numerous arrests and issuing numerous summonses.
""There's murderers on these bikes," said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said There are shooters on these bikes, robberies on these bikes. Reckless drivers putting our public at peril."
Crime stats released by the NYPD revealed that during the first five months of 2022, there were just 10 reports of robbery involving e-bikes and scooters.
In 2023, 22 robberies were reported. During the same year, the NYPD confiscated 18,430 illegal and unregistered scooters.
Meanwhile, in 2024, more than 79 e-bike and scooter-related robberies were tracked by the NYPD.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, along with top brass from the NYPD, visited Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island on Wednesday to crush and destroy scooters, mopeds, and ATVs that have already been seized.
Adams said the crackdown will continue through the summer.
"We know that many of these scooters that are used legally are used part of the commerce in our city, but far too many are illegal, unregistered. It should not be on our street," he said.
Just last week, Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, 19 --who was arraigned Wednesday morning -- allegedly shot two police officers in East Elmhurst. Police say it happened after they were addressing a robbery pattern and tried to pull over the suspect on a scooter, headed the wrong way.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban acknowledged New Yorkers are at risk as long as the unregistered vehicles are on the road.
"We are very very fortunate there are cops are alive and they're recovering right now," said Caban. "But because of this and many other public safety concerns, we take this issue very seriously. The police department will also target ghost cars, or vehicles with fake license plates at toll plazas across the city."
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