NYCs deadly e-bike crisis is getting worse and only Albany can tackle it

Getting hit by an e-bike has become such a recognizable hazard of New York City life that “Saturday Night Live” has repeatedly spoofed it as Gotham’s hottest “new way to die.”“There’s a menace on the streets of our city,” Scarlett Johansen warbled in a musical skit last year.“Suddenly e-bikes — they’re trying to kill me.” But it’s no laughing matter for our pedestrians, who have adapted by developing a new reflex at every intersection: Look left; look right; then look again — for the e-bike coming at you out of nowhere.The city has seen nine fatal e-bike collisions this year — and counting.I introduced Priscilla’s Law in Albany to tackle this deadly danger in 2024.It’s a straightforward concept: E-bikes and e-scooters operating in New York City should be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles, and should carry visible license plates.The law is named for Priscilla Loke, a beloved 69-year-old teacher and Chinatown resident who was struck by an e-bike in September 2023 and died from the severe head trauma she sustained.Her hit-and-run death put a human face on a fear New Yorkers were already feeling.We license and register motor vehicles for good reason: If a driver hits you and leaves the scene, the license plate gives us a way to identify the offender’s vehicle.But e-bikes are unregistered, making identification practically impossible.According to Janet Schroeder of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, riders flee the scene in 90% of e-bike crashes — so no police report can be filed.More than two years have passed since I introduced Priscilla’s Law, yet Albany has taken no final action.In the meantime, the public outcry has only grown.At town halls across the city — from my South Queens district to the Upper West Side to Brownsville — I’ve seen widespread support for Priscilla’s Law from everyday New Yorkers, making this issue impossible to ignore.This year, we finally made a breakthrough: The Legislature he...