Q&A
Council Member Marmorato raises concerns about e-scooter program in Northeast Bronx
0:37:00
·
4 min
Council Member Kristy Marmorato expresses strong concerns about the e-scooter program in her Northeast Bronx district, citing safety issues, violations, and lack of accountability from the operating company. Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez responds to her concerns, offering to share contract information and visit the district.
- Marmorato reports multiple violations observed in a short time, including improper parking of e-scooters
- She questions the decision to make the program permanent given reported safety issues and illegal behavior
- Rodriguez commits to sharing the contract and visiting the district, while emphasizing the benefits of micromobility
- Marmorato expresses frustration with the lack of education and engagement from the e-scooter company in her district
Kristy Marmorato
0:37:00
Thank you so much, chair.
0:37:01
So I'm gonna try to be quick as possible.
0:37:02
So just to give you a heads up, I'm in the Northeast Bronx and we have an e scooter program that is an absolute disaster.
0:37:10
Dropping my child off at school, within less than 5 minutes, I saw 3 violations.
0:37:16
One scooter parked on the property of a private school where a parent probably took their child to the school.
0:37:22
2, 1 block, blocking the middle of the sidewalk and another one where it was just thrown in the street.
0:37:29
My community is not set up or designed to have corrals in the lower density portion of the district.
0:37:36
A lot of those complaints from my district are coming from those portions of the district.
0:37:40
I have reached out to the commissioner, the Bronx commissioner, to create corrals by the train stations because they are scattered all over the place and thrown on the street, oversaturated.
0:37:51
I feel like I'm not getting any help and I have reached out to Lyme myself and no response, no accountability until we started documenting everything.
0:38:02
How the crosswalks are blocked, people's front of their gates, the lines are just thrown.
0:38:09
This is about the east the sharing scooter program, because I feel like when you own your own bike and you own your own scooter, you have a little more respect for the road and everything around you.
0:38:21
I feel like these people have absolutely no respect.
0:38:24
And I want to know, since the pilot program, when did when alright.
0:38:29
Here we go.
0:38:30
A 152 this is from you guys, DOT.
0:38:33
A 152 reported crashes in the 1st 12 months of the program.
0:38:38
Nearly half of the riders who responded to DOT's e scooter survey, 44% report riding on sidewalks and 30% reported feeling safer riding on the sidewalks than in the street.
0:38:50
How do you make that a permanent program if they're breaking the law?
0:38:54
They're telling you, you did a survey and they're telling you we're riding on sidewalks.
0:38:58
I've seen it.
0:38:58
My police have told us that, there's robberies now taking place and they're using these e scooters to ride away.
0:39:07
It's a very in the last 28 days, there were 5 incidents
Lincoln Restler
0:39:10
before you get
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
0:39:10
to question, please?
Kristy Marmorato
0:39:12
Okay.
0:39:13
My question.
0:39:14
Sorry.
0:39:17
How can you renew this program and when and when is this program where's the, the contract?
0:39:25
How do I get a copy of the contract?
0:39:28
I foil request.
0:39:29
I'm not gonna get it until June.
0:39:31
When can I get it?
0:39:32
How can I get it?
0:39:33
And when will the contract be up?
Ydanis Rodriguez
0:39:35
Yeah.
0:39:35
More than happy to share copy of the contract, you know, with you, the chair, the the council, and and that's the first thing.
0:39:43
Sharing the contract, language is more than happy to work with you.
0:39:47
2nd, more than happy to walk through your district.
Kristy Marmorato
0:39:49
You have to see it.
Ydanis Rodriguez
0:39:50
So I say I will.
0:39:51
I will.
0:39:51
So and the third thing is that I feel that we need to focus on those reckless.
0:39:58
1, As my point is that, is thinking about sometime that people say, oh, those who use e bike, scooter, they should not be here.
0:40:07
They're here already.
0:40:08
And when someone use a scooter instead of a vehicle, they contribute to the environment.
0:40:14
It's good for the health and it's good for the economy.
0:40:18
However, they those percentage as you're describing, that they are the reckless one, we as a agency who work with the company are committed to work to make those company also accountable and also continue doing the educational and the They
Kristy Marmorato
0:40:31
don't do the education.
0:40:32
We've asked Lime to come to the district.
0:40:34
They refused.
0:40:35
Not until recently, they mentioned in an email that they wanna come to the district.
0:40:39
I've been in office for 11 months.
0:40:41
I've asked in the past they won't do it.
0:40:43
They're supposed to do it regularly.
0:40:45
The commissioner told me, Bronx commissioner told me they should be doing it regularly.
0:40:48
They have not once did it.
0:40:50
I've never seen them in my district doing education.
0:40:53
Enough is enough.
0:40:54
We've tried.
0:40:55
We don't want them in our community.
0:40:57
They're dangerous.
0:40:58
They're a hazard to people.
0:40:59
We can't have any more people getting hurt.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
0:41:03
Thank you.
0:41:03
Next, we'll hear from Thank you.
