PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Nabil Ahmed Katri, Small Business Owner of E-Bike Rental Business
7:45:55
·
92 sec
Nabil Ahmed Katri, a small business owner of an e-bike rental business, testified against Intro 606 and the proposed licensing requirements for e-bikes. He emphasized the distinction between e-bikes and mopeds, and argued that cars pose a greater threat to street safety than e-bikes.
- Highlighted that the majority of his rental bikes are class 1 and class 2 e-bikes, which are different from mopeds
- Pointed out that cars are responsible for more pedestrian deaths and injuries, despite extensive licensing and accountability measures
- Urged council members to oppose the bill and focus on "actual common sense solutions" rather than licensing e-bikes
Nabil Ahmed Katri
7:45:55
Oh, okay.
7:45:56
I was mute.
7:45:57
Hi.
7:45:57
My name is Nabil.
7:45:59
You got the name right or not too bad.
7:46:00
Thank you for staying, so late.
7:46:03
I'm also a small business owner, and we rent out family bikes and cargo bikes, so we're very familiar with e bikes.
7:46:08
All the bikes that we have, a majority of them, are class 1 and class 2 e bikes.
7:46:13
I think there's been a conflation of e bikes and mopeds, which are very different.
7:46:18
Mopeds are heavier, they go much faster, and they already have licensing requirements that, as previously people have said, NYPD design force.
7:46:25
The reality is that the biggest threat to our streets are cars.
7:46:28
Just last week, 3 pedestrians were killed over the weekend, and cars require extensive training, licensing.
7:46:35
We have apparatuses in place to hold cars accountable, yet they still keep killing New Yorkers.
7:46:40
I'm not against licensing inherently, but only if we have, 0 car deaths and 0 car injuries, and then bikes are the only things that are left that are causing injuries, then I would advocate for something like this.
7:46:52
But the reality is that we have limited resources and limited time to deal with issues.
7:46:56
We should prioritize the issues that are actually killing a lot of New Yorkers and injuring and made New Yorkers, not just pedestrians, but other motorists.
7:47:04
You can ban bikes tomorrow, which I know Bob Holden and people like Vicky Palladino are in favor of, but that wouldn't cause the overwhelming harm that cars cause in our streets.
7:47:13
So for this reason, I I I urge all the council members to oppose this bill and come up with actual common sense solutions.
7:47:19
Bob Holden and Vicky Paladino do not have a trademark to the term common sense.
7:47:24
Putting license on ebikes is not common sense.
7:47:26
Thank you.
