There will be additional officers conducting moped and e-bike enforcement on city streets in the coming months.
The city on Monday said it will hire 45 new peace officers for the Department of Sustainable Delivery (DSD), a new entity housed within the Department of Transportation, according New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The DSD will conduct enforcement against illegal moped, e-bike, and e-scooter riding, hold delivery apps accountable by ensuring that commercial cyclists are using safe and legal equipment and that delivery companies face repercussions for unsafe behavior, and address vehicle parking behaviors that endanger pedestrians, cyclists and e-bike riders, he said.
“Our administration continues to make the safety of every New Yorker our number one priority, and that includes keeping everyone on our streets safe, including pedestrians and bicyclists,” Adams said in a statement. “The newly created Department of Sustainable Delivery is yet another step that we’re taking to support delivery workers, keep pedestrians safe, and hold delivery app companies accountable for placing unrealistic expectations on their workers that put New Yorkers in harm’s way."
The DSD’s enforcement team will supplement traffic enforcement handled by the New York City Police Department and will be deployed at safety hotspots across the five boroughs.
Officers, who will be unarmed, will be deployed in teams, including some on e-bikes, and will work alongside DOT’s Vision Zero Street Team to engage street users on safe and legal operation of vehicles and educate them about the leading causes of crashes.
“DOT is taking a holistic approach to traffic safety through better street design, education, and now, a new dedicated enforcement team," said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.
The mayor also urged the City Council to pass his proposed legislation that would authorize the city to revoke delivery apps’ licenses for incentivizing reckless e-bike riding by requiring workers to meet unreasonably fast delivery times.
