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Q&A
Cyclist enforcement and e-bike regulations discussion
1:05:14
·
5 min
Council Member Brooks-Powers expresses concern about cyclists receiving criminal violations for infractions, unlike motorists. Commissioner Tisch explains the current legal framework for e-bike enforcement and the challenges faced in regulating this mode of transportation.
- Current enforcement options: B summonses (ineffective for unlicensed e-bikes) and C summonses
- Need for a new legal framework and enforcement paradigm for e-bikes
- Emphasis on addressing public safety concerns without waging a 'war on e-bikes or bikers'
- Scale of enforcement: 250,000+ tickets to drivers vs. several thousand to bikers
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:05:14
And then the last question is around, the cyclin enforcement.
1:05:19
I know that council member Kaban spoke on it, I just wanted to underscore the concern about cyclists being given criminal violations for infractions, which is not what motorists get.
1:05:38
I do recognize that there is a need, a substantiated need to have greater enforcement because there is a degree of what the public feels has felt like lawlessness in terms of cycling behavior, but I don't know that giving criminal citations is the way to go and so I wanted to understand better the police department's rationale for issuing criminal summonses to cyclists for minor infractions like running a red light when the same infraction is treated as a civil penalty for pedestrians and drivers?
Jessica Tisch
1:06:16
So let me start with the new 116 Precinct.
1:06:20
Current personnel assigned there, 199 people.
1:06:26
Two captains, seven lieutenants, 20 sergeants, one hundred and 40 seven police officers and detectives, and 23 civilians.
1:06:36
We have seen great results I would say in terms of the decrease in response times since that command opened up.
1:06:46
So if we look at precinct average response times for all calls pre and post.
1:06:55
For the 105 Precinct, pre the 116 opening the average time was twenty one minutes and three seconds.
1:07:03
Post the average response time is eight minutes and thirty eight seconds.
1:07:07
If we look at the 113, same idea.
1:07:11
Pre, twenty minutes and forty eight seconds.
1:07:14
Post, sixteen minutes and nineteen seconds.
1:07:17
So we are pleased with what we are seeing in terms of the trends in response times.
1:07:27
I'll do e bikes quickly and then I'll call someone up to talk about Cure Violence and the work we do partnering there.
1:07:35
I said in my testimony council on a legal framework, new enforcement paradigm for e bikes in New York City.
1:07:53
In fact, I call on this council to change the laws as they relate to e bikes in this city.
1:08:03
But under the current law we had two options.
1:08:08
One was issuing B summonses and the other was issuing C summonses.
1:08:14
As it relates to e bike enforcement, the B summonses were virtually meaningless.
1:08:22
B summonses work for cars, for vehicles where licenses are required.
1:08:30
Because if you have multiple infractions or you don't show up to court or you don't pay your summons, there are real consequences.
1:08:40
You either get points on your license or your license is suspended.
1:08:45
So the B Summons paradigm exists for licensed drivers.
1:08:53
Because e bikes aren't licensed, B summonses don't work.
1:08:57
They're meaningless.
1:08:59
So the only option that we had under the current law as it exists was to issue C summonses.
1:09:09
I look forward to working with this council to address this issue head on.
1:09:16
I do believe that the enforcement framework has to change.
1:09:21
We can look at licensing.
1:09:22
We can look at other things.
1:09:23
But the current state of affairs doesn't work for anyone.
1:09:26
It doesn't work for the cyclists and it certainly doesn't work for pedestrians.
1:09:31
I want to be extremely clear.
1:09:33
This is not a war on e bikes or bikers.
1:09:39
This is in response to very real concerns that are widely held across virtually every borough and every neighborhood in this city where we're hearing people tell us that they are afraid to cross the street.
1:09:54
Where we see a terrible video in Williamsburg from this weekend of a young child being blasted by an e bike barreling down the street.
1:10:06
The old paradigm of issuing B Summons and having virtually no enforcement didn't work.
1:10:12
I believe option that we have now and we are seeing people on e bikes pay more attention to the rules of the road as we have begun this enforcement push.
1:10:27
I also wanna put in context that of something like we've given out 250,000 plus B summonses or tickets to drivers this year, so far this year.
1:10:43
The number to bikers is several thousand.
1:10:46
So it is definitely, I mean, we need to keep the scale of the different types of enforcement in mind as we talk about this.