PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Brian Howald, Member of the Transportation Committee of Brooklyn Community Board 2
6:38:55
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124 sec
Brian Howald, a member of Brooklyn Community Board 2's transportation committee, testifies in opposition to Intro 606, which would require licensing and registration of e-bikes. He argues that the bill is inadequate in addressing safety concerns and would create impractical situations for e-bike users.
- Howald points out that the bill lacks specifics on penalties and enforcement.
- He highlights potential issues with the proposed registration system, such as problems for out-of-state e-bike owners.
- He argues that the bill won't solve the safety issues it claims to address and urges council members to oppose it.
Brian Howald
6:38:55
Good evening, chair.
6:38:56
Brooks Powers and other council members.
6:38:58
My name is Brian Howald.
6:38:59
I live in Brooklyn Heights, and I'm a 7th generation New Yorker.
6:39:02
I'm a member of Brooklyn Community Board 2 and its transportation committee, though I only speak personally today.
6:39:07
Everyone in this room has had a close call with an e bike, whether someone biking on the sidewalk, going the wrong way in the bike lane, turning around a blind corner too fast, etcetera.
6:39:15
We've heard dozens of stories from people who are hurt in crashes and this pain and suffering is very real.
6:39:20
E bikes, mopeds, other bikes, scooters, cars, there are people in every form of transportation you are breaking the rules and putting other people in harm's way all the time.
6:39:29
If you care about getting bikes off of sidewalks, if you care about people crossing with the walk sign not getting hit, if you care about getting people to not run red lights, if you care about seniors, if you care about safety, then this bill is not for you.
6:39:41
I speak in opposition today to intro 606.
6:39:44
This bill at 416 words is surprisingly scant about how it will solve these problems.
6:39:49
This bill would make it mandatory for every e bike to have a license plate, but that doesn't say what the penalty would be for breaking that law.
6:39:55
This bill would make plates mandatory for e bikes, but the language isn't restricted to riding on public streets.
6:39:59
So if you drove a U Haul from Pennsylvania to Connecticut with an e bike in the back, you'd be breaking the law if you didn't make a pit stop in Washington Heights to register it.
6:40:07
This bill would prohibit e bikes from displaying any plates other than New York City plates.
6:40:11
So if the scheme being proposed here were adopted by, say, New Jersey, people would have to stop biking halfway across the g w bridge to swap their license plates.
6:40:19
The people pushing this law say it's needed to stop behavior that's already illegal.
6:40:23
The lack of license plates hasn't stopped the NYPD from riding tickets to people on bikes or ebikes or from confiscating mopeds.
6:40:29
As pointed out today, this bill wouldn't even apply to mopeds.
6:40:33
I report drivers to the police are throwing bottles at me only to be told that if they didn't witness it, there's nothing they would do even with a photo and a license plate.
6:40:40
How will registering e bikes make our streets safer?
6:40:42
No one pushing this bill has an answer beyond hand waving.
6:40:45
To the council members who have signed on to this bill in response to constituent concerns, this bill won't make your constituents safer nor will it get the people pushing this bill off your back.
6:40:53
It won't solve the many real problems discussed here, and it's only a matter of time before they'll be back with another bad idea.
6:40:58
Please oppose this bill.
6:40:59
Thank you.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
6:41:00
Thank you.
