In latest push to keep city streets safe, Council will vote on legislation to impose penalties on businesses using e-bikes<\/p>\n
New York, NY \u2013 Today, the Council will vote to make it easier for the City to carry out a ban on electric bicycles, or \u201ce-bikes,\u201d by creating penalties and removing loopholes in City law that have made enforcement difficult.<\/p>\n
The Council will also vote on a bill to require the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) to create and maintain a public interactive crime map.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Council will vote on a Resolution calling on the State University of New York (SUNY) and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) to work with stakeholders to pursue the acquisition of Long Island College Hospital (LICH) by another health care institution to preserve critical services for the community.<\/p>\n
Electric Bicycle Legislation
\nWhile e-bikes are already illegal in the city, Council legislation will serve to strengthen the e-bike ban. The first bill, Intro 1030 sponsored by Council Member Jessica Lappin, would create civil penalties of $100 for businesses that have e-bikes on the premises, and $250 for subsequent violations. In addition, the legislation would hold business owners responsible for any penalties incurred by employees caught using e-bikes while making deliveries for the business. <\/p>\n
A second bill, Intro1026 sponsored by Council Member Dan Garodnick, would clarify the definition of a motor scooter in the City\u2019s Administrative Code. Current regulations create a loophole for motor scooters that cannot exceed 15 miles per hour, creating a challenge for the NYPD to enforce the e-bike ban. In addition, the legislation would make it easier for law enforcement to keep an impounded vehicle by requiring that all civil penalties in addition to fines be paid prior to release of the vehicle to its owner.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s legislation is part of an on-going effort by the Council to keep the city\u2019s streets safe for all New Yorkers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we see them everywhere, many people don\u2019t know that e-bikes are already illegal. They are a danger to New Yorkers because they are significantly faster and heavier than regular bikes,\u201d said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. \u201cThis legislation will help to enforce the City\u2019s e-bike ban, and will send a clear message to businesses that the use of these dangerous vehicles will not be tolerated. Bottom line: e-bikes are unlicensed, unsafe and unwelcome in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElectric bicycles are not bikes,\u201d said Council Member Garodnick. \u201cThey are deceptively fast because of their sudden acceleration, and that is why they are illegal. These bills will give the City the tools it needs to properly enforce the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Yorkers in many communities, including my own in the Bronx, are all too familiar with the dangers dirt bikes and other motorized vehicles pose. They belong exactly where their name implies\u2014in the dirt, out in the country and not on the streets of New York City,\u201d said Council Member James Vacca. \u201cEven though these bikes are already illegal, the current laws make it difficult for the city to effectively crack down on them. These bills today send a clear message that we mean business in taking these bikes off our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interactive Crime Mapping Website<\/p>\n
The use of crime mapping has a long history as a policing resource. Today, as technology has made data collection and interactive mapping dramatically easier, it is now being used by a growing number of cities in the United States to make crime data available to the public in an easy-to-understand format.<\/p>\n
The Council will vote on Intro 984, sponsored by Council Member Fernando Cabrera, to require DoITT to create and maintain an interactive crime map on the City\u2019s website, available to the public. The map will display the monthly, yearly, and year-to-date totals for the current and most recent prior calendar years for each class of crime that is reported to the NYPD. The map will be searchable by address, zip code, and NYPD patrol precinct. <\/p>\n
Open data embraces the beauty of a more transparent government. It is the building block of the digital age and, to the extent possible, the bill aims to ensure that the public has as much access to real information that affects them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Crime Mapping Bill is very significant in providing greater accessibility and transparency to each class of crime that is reported to the police, or for which an arrest was made, including crimes that occurred in parks and subway stations. People will be able to search the data by address, zip code and patrol precinct. The bill will enable elected officials, community organizations, and the general public to localize current high crime areas and use resources more strategically and efficiently. The available data will have the potential to create a culture and atmosphere of trust between the various communities and New York City Police Department,\u201d said Council Member Cabrera.<\/p>\n
Long Island College Hospital Resolution<\/p>\n
For more than 150 years, LICH has been a critical part of the Brooklyn healthcare system. LICH provides medical care to over 100,000 patients a year and employs more than 2,000 people.<\/p>\n
In February, the President of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center submitted a plan to close LICH citing financial reasons. The closing of this facility will greatly impact the delivery of health care in Brooklyn, especially for residents of the communities surrounding the hospital, including Red Hook \u2013 a neighborhood specifically designated as a \u201cHealth Professional Shortage Area\u201d by the federal government.<\/p>\n
The Council today calls on SUNY and the State DOH to work with stakeholders to pursue the acquisition of LICH by another health care institution to preserve critical health care services for the community, and to ensure that all resources gained from any sale or transfer of LICH assets are used exclusively for the preservation of these services.<\/p>\n
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In latest push to keep city streets safe, Council will vote on legislation to impose penalties on businesses using e-bikes<\/p>\n
New York, NY \u2013 Today, the Council will vote to make it easier for the City to carry out a ban on electric bicycles, or \u201ce-bikes,\u201d by creating penalties and removing loopholes in City law that have made enforcement difficult.<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n