Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s directive to go easy on e-bike violations has “legalized” reckless riding and let lawlessness run rampant on city streets, a new lawsuit filed on Thursday claimed.
The complaint, filed Thursday in Richmond County Supreme Court by nine New Yorkers who were injured by e‑bikes, claims Mamdani’s March directive illegally bars cops from issuing criminal summonses to e‑bike riders who blast through red lights, ride on sidewalks or barrel the wrong way down one‑way streets.
“The lack of any actual safety policy, or even concern frankly, is the very definition of capricious decision making, as well as a stunning offense to public trust,” the lawsuit said.
Mamdani’s executive order limits officers to handing out civil tickets for unlicensed e‑bike riders, who can ignore them without fear of arrest or license suspension.
The lawsuit blasts Mamdani’s change, saying it effectively “legalized” dangerous riding and turned sidewalks and crosswalks into “zones of exclusion” for seniors and disabled New Yorkers who can’t physically dodge 25 mph e‑bikes.
The plaintiffs said they were injured by reckless e-bikes.
Plaintiff Bonnie Gerard, 83, was allegedly standing on a sidewalk in the Upper East Side when an e‑bike jumped the curb and crashed into her, knocking her down and leaving her with a concussion, a fractured kneecap and leg injuries that still affect her ability to walk.
Fellow plaintiff Harvey Goldberg, 75, was riding a Citi Bike when an e‑bike rider slammed into him on Second Avenue, knocking him unconscious and leaving him with a fractured clavicle and long‑term arm immobility that interferes with his work as a physician, according to the lawsuit.
And Roberta Simon said she was walking on a Central Park pedestrian lane when an e‑bike slammed into her from behind, knocking her unconscious and breaking several ribs. She had to have brain surgery and spent days in a coma. She still suffers dizziness and headaches.
The suit is seeking a policy change, asking a judge to void Mamdani’s policy and restore former Mayor Eric Adams; criminal enforcement that plaintiffs said cut e‑bike crashes and fatalities by about 30%.
They point to NYU Langone data showing e‑bike and scooter crashes now account for 7% of all trauma admissions and that pedestrians struck by the devices suffer brain injuries at nearly twice the rate of riders.
