The NYPD Is Sitting On A Huge Supply Of Seized E-Bikes That Could Be Returned To 'Vital Frontline' Workers

Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged this week to pause his crackdown on e-bike riders, conceding that police should not be targeting a group mainly comprised of workers playing a critical role in delivering food and supplies to New Yorkers under quarantine. But what about those delivery cyclists who were already ensnared in the years-long crackdown?

The NYPD has seized hundreds of throttle-powered e-bikes from delivery workers — many of which are now sitting in a warehouse collecting dust, and could easily be returned to their original owners. In a letter delivered to Police Commissioner Dermot Shea on Thursday, half a dozen city council members called on the department to do just that, while asking the city to provide gloves and other forms of protections to the "vital frontline workforce."

"E-bike delivery workers were marginalized for years even as we fought for their rights," said Jo-Anne Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation, which organized the campaign in partnership with the Legal Aid Society. "Now, as the coronavirus keeps us off the streets, these immigrants are risking their lives and that of their families to bring food to New Yorkers."

It's unclear exactly how many confiscated throttle-powered e-bikes are currently in the NYPD's possession. But according to Steve Wasserman, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, there are "many hundreds" of throttle-powered e-bikes sitting in an NYPD tow pound in Red Hook. Each has been tagged with the owner's name and address, meaning they could easily be returned, he said.

While the mayor vowed that his crackdown would focus on the businesses that employ the delivery workers, the police department's own data has shown that the overwhelming majority of enforcement fell on those riding e-bikes.

Police have the discretion to issue $500 fines and seize the e-bikes, which cost about $2,000. A survey conducted by Do Lee, who wrote his PhD thesis in environmental psychology on delivery cyclists at the CUNY Graduate Center, found that nearly 50 percent of all Chinese delivery cyclists had their e-bikes confiscated by police.

Beyond the call to return the bikes, the letter requests that the NYPD dedicate resources to ensure that delivery cyclists are protected from robberies, assaults, and hate crimes.

"It shouldn’t have taken a global pandemic to make the mayor realize that we rely on these immigrant workers to prepare and deliver food," Tiffany Chang, the policy advisor at Asian American Federation, told Gothamist. "They’re providing a public service by staying out there and doing their jobs."

The letter's signatories include Councilmembers Costa Constantinides, Margaret Chin, Carlos Menchaca, Adrienne Adams, Peter Koo, Carlina Rivera, and Ydanis Rodriguez.

Neither the Mayor's Office nor the NYPD responded to Gothamist's inquiries about whether they would return the seized bikes.