PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Karen Chagru, District 7 Voter
4:03:36
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133 sec
Karen Chagru, a long-time New York resident and District 7 voter, testifies about the dangers of unregulated e-bikes and other motorized devices in the city. She shares her personal experience of being injured by an e-vehicle rider and criticizes the lack of enforcement and accountability.
- Describes the current situation as a "Mad Max world" where powerful machines dominate the streets
- Argues that the city's failure to enforce existing laws has led to a crisis of safety for pedestrians
- Supports licensing for e-bike riders as a potential solution to curb illegal behaviors
Karen Chagru
4:03:36
Good afternoon.
4:03:38
I'm Karen Chagru, a New Yorker of 30 years and a District 7 voter.
4:03:43
The onslaught of unregulated, unregistered, often illegal and unaccountable e bikes and other devices has turned our city into a Mad Max world where the people with the most powerful machines are the alphas, the rest of us are the losers.
4:04:00
Every day on our streets and sidewalks, it's a test of nerves, a game of chicken.
4:04:06
Personally, I was mowed down while crossing Broadway by an EVHICLE, not a delivery person, who felt that he had the right to run a red light.
4:04:15
I broke my wrist, fractured my pelvis, and my assailant fled.
4:04:20
I recovered, but frankly, I'm tired of bending the knee, altering my life to accommodate the moneyed interest of corporations who exploit their bike riding workers and encourage a culture of lawlessness that has been allowed to grow unchecked because city officials have taken so long to understand we have a crisis.
4:04:42
None of us would be here today asking for licensing if DOT and the NYPD and DMV were actually doing any enforcement.
4:04:52
Were actually collecting any real data.
4:04:55
We would not be here asking for licensing if e bike riders stopped at red lights, if delivery drivers didn't ride on sidewalks or go down one way streets the wrong way.
4:05:07
If anyone in opposition to this bill actually had a solution to curb these illegal behaviors, that would be one thing.
4:05:16
But I've been here all day standing in the back because I can't sit down for a very long time.
4:05:22
I've been here listening all day, and I've yet to hear a solution from the other side, except more of the same, which is build more bike lanes so they can be filled with more bikes doing illegal things.
4:05:34
I'm a cyclist.
4:05:35
To my fellow cyclists, you're lying to yourselves if you think e bikers will obey rules if you're given bigger lanes where fast and slow should be separated when they don't do it now.
4:05:47
Thank you so much for your supporting
