By Carol Tannenhauser
An unidentified man on a moped, traveling west on West 72nd Street, hit a 69-year-old woman who was exiting a parked yellow cab on Sunday afternoon at around 12:59 p.m., an NYPD spokesperson told West Side Rag. The man then veered into a Citi Bike rack.
The driver abandoned the moped, which witnesses said was unregistered, and fled, police added.
A porter in a nearby building said the driver was a delivery person whom he had seen before.
Bystanders, who said they had spoken to the woman’s son, reported that she was visiting him from Austin, Texas, and was wearing a bright pink shirt when she was hit. She remained conscious and was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital in stable condition, police said.
No arrest has been made, and there were no further details as of Monday morning. The investigation is ongoing.
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these mopeds are an absolute menance. where is the enforcement? where is the outrage? they are reckless and dangerous and destroying the neighborhoods’ quality of life. i don’t undertand why there is zero action against them from elected officials.
The problem is that they have only recently started confiscating unregistered scooters after letting things run rampant during and after COVID. Even now those with license plates still drive like fools much of the time
Another example of the NYPD doing nothing to enforce when the issue is nascent so it proliferates until it can no longer be ignored, and by this time the agencies require “task forces” and “special operations” , etc etc etc. Fake Paper License Plates, Smoke Shops, Unregistered Mopeds are just a few examples of this.
Unfortunately, the reality is that the NYPD cannot confiscate these without a tow truck and NYPD tow trucks are in short supply, especially in Manhattan. So for the average cop on patrol, there really is little they can do, even when it is happening constantly, right in front of them.
There is not “zero action” by electeds. If you’re going to make statements like that, you should be better informed. Here are just a few initiatives:
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/brad-hoylman-sigal/governor-hochul-signs-senator-hoylman-sigal-bill
https://trackbill.com/bill/new-york-senate-bill-561-increases-the-penalties-for-leaving-the-scene-of-an-accident-involving-an-electric-scooter-without-reporting-in-the-first-and-second-degrees/2297328/
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6557371&GUID=2E2BC193-A84D-4C96-8F66-CC52A28AD18C
Hoylman-Sigal and Linda Rosenthal have been a joke on this issue.
Ken, until there is actual “action” against these scofflaws, to the public, that means “zero action”. This should be obvious.
There is a bill “Pricilla’s Law” to make all vehicles that move at these speeds carry license plates and insurance. We must get it passed. There can be no enforcement without red light cameras. Once it is mandatory that they all carry plates, any without plates can be confiscated. Otherwise police cannot do anything. The vehicles are not the problem. The RIDERS are the problem.
Everyone, please call your elected officials, City and State and tell them that you want Priscilla’s Law passed. There are versions at both levels. Priscilla’s Law, named in honor of Priscilla Loke, who was killed by a Citi e-bike, would require license plates and registration for all motorized vehicles.
Oh hogwash. There is no law enforcement in the city, THAT IS THE PROBLEM.
The answer is not another law that nobody will respect and will not be enforced, the answer is enforcement of existing laws.
It’s Priscilla’s law, sponsored by Bob Holden of Queens. Gale Brewer is silent on this issue.
Gale Brewer was against 0758-2022 last year. I think the real issue is that she wants to neutralize any threat from the bike lobby. They ran Sara Lind against her in 2021 and took away the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club and StreetsPAC endorsement away from her then. Notice how Sara Lind, a Rosenthal appointee was not reappointed by Gale.
People do not realize how a life is changed forever after this type of incident.
There are the medical bills. time and the trauma for the victim and their family.
May be time to change the elected officials.
Just as suggestion.
Even when Gale leaves, the powers that be are likely grooming Democratic District Leader Pablo Zevallos for the seat and he would probably do the same thing.
If only NYPD were doing more to boot or confiscate unlicensed mopeds when they are parked…
Cops and parking ticket givers are super diligent to give out tickets for cars whenever and wherever they can to make that extra buck for NYC. The illegal moped/motor bike/scooter is an untapped market. If NYC enforced the law, there would be an unbelievable money windfall. Instead, they go for the low hanging fruit and ticket cars. Put a little effort into it NYC and most importantly to the city, they would make a ton of cash and most importantly to the pedestrian, they would be much safer. A win-win. Or not and continue to just ignore the problem. Oh, there’s someone who double parked, lets go give them a ticket! Careful of the unlicensed moped about to run you over on the way over as you turn a blind eye to it.
Super diligent? If only that were true… while mopeds are certainly underenforced, I frequently see cars that are illegally parked, have fake license plates / illegal window tints, are blocking the crosswalk etc that are not ticketed either. Just feels like NYPD has stopped caring about any sort of traffic violation.
NYPD management need to provide attractive incentives in order to motivate cops to enforce the law. If promotions and raises depended on getting illegal vehicles impounded or confiscating bikes that are being ridden on the sidewalk, the world would be dramatically different.
Lisa,
Incentives to do their jobs?
Do you mean to say that construction workers working on the outside of a building should be paid incentives/extras to not drop things?
You want to pay cops more money to do the job they’re already getting paid for?
No, I’m talking about shifting incentives. A cop only has so much time. What gets them promoted now? We need to change the focus to enforcing quality of life crimes.
What crimes are the police focusing on now that are not quality of life crimes? Better policing would enable the NYPD to handle all crime effectively with the budget the department has.
NYPD is among the lower paying police departments. Until recently, the former police commissioner of the City of Long Beach Michael Tangney, who managed a force of 80 officers got paid more than the NYPD commissioner who manages a force of about 36,000 officers. Not only that Michaell Tangney also got paid to be acting city manager for Long Beach on top of that. It does not pay to be NYPD.
This is not true. While NYPD has one of the lowest starting salaries, most officers are making well over $100,000 by year 5. Compare that with FDNY EMS/EMTs who arguably also have a very difficult job and the lifetime salary cap is around $75,000. The narrative that the NYPD are underpaid is just false and I encourage you to see for yourself by visiting 50-a.org and select any random set of officers with at least 5 years of service to see their ACTUAL pay.
The NYPD still gets paid less than the Nassau, Suffolk or Port Authority Police Departments. They are underpaid and get less benefits when you look at the whole area outside NYC. EMT’s have a very difficult job too, but go to Long Island or anywhere outside NYC and you will see that most Fire Department and EMT services are volunteer. There are only two paid fire departments on all of Long Island.
“The NYPD still gets paid less than the Nassau, Suffolk or Port Authority Police Departments. They are underpaid and get less benefits when you look at the whole area outside NYC.” is just not true. Compare the gross pay at 5 years of service and you can see for yourself that you are misinformed.
no, they need to be told by their superior officers to enforce the laws.
Incentive? They get to keep their jobs.
Cars are just as bad. Don’t kid yourself. They ALL need to be reined in.
At least cars are more accountable and things were getting better with cars in the 2010s.
I think most people would disagree that all, or most, or even 5% of double parked cars in the neighborhood are getting tickets! There is a lot of low hanging fruit out there for the NYPD!
BTW a teacher was hit by a moped last month in Inwood.
https://nypost.com/2024/08/07/us-news/hit-and-run-moped-rider-flees-after-ramming-into-nyc-mom-and-knocking-her-unconscious-in-street-video/
Fleeing the scene is obviously a huge no-no. Ditto unregistered moped. But also, if her taxi was going west on 72nd before stopping, and then she opened the taxi door and was then struck….that sounds like she might have exited on the driver side of the taxi, vs the curb (passenger) side, which is also a big no-no. Getting out on the wrong (driver) side of the taxi is a double black diamond move. You need to be absolutely sure no one is coming from either direction. Otherwise bad stuff happens.
…or the cabbie didn’t pull over to the curb and the moped was between the curb and the taxi.
If she got off out the driver’s side, how did the moped driver then veer into the Citi-bike rack on the “passenger’s” side? Have a look at the first photo….
When is the city going to get this issue under control?
I ride a motorcycle that is registered, licensed, inspected with liability insurance as required by law.
The fact that individuals are being allowed to operate these motorized bikes “motorcycles) without any of this, is a public safety isssue, is illegal and more than outrageous.
It’s not only the mopeds, it’s the ignorant young men driving them. If they find him, he will probably walk away with a slap on the wrist. Every such vehicle and driver should be required to have a permit. Lawlessness of this sort reigns supreme on the UWS and no one does a thing about it.
Last week I saw a delivery rider get hit on Amsterdam near 81st by a Uhaul truck. The road was packed and I didn’t see what transpired just heard a crash noise and saw the cyclist falling. Fortunately cars around him stopped. The Uhaul driver seemed oblivious. I asked the rider if I should call 911. It was clear he was hurt. He said no and hobbled to thw side with his bike. There is something seriously wrong here and leads me to think there is more illegal activity going on than just delivery workers who don’t have papers. Being a sanctuary city and all.
FYI readers…..Gale Brewer DOES NOT support requiring every electric vehicle in New York City, that is not otherwise registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to be registered with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and receive an identification number, which would then be displayed on the electric vehicle. And, where, in this instance, victim and police would have had the ID of moped driver.
Think twice neighbors about who you vote for in next city council election! We need a new council person here on UWS!
Then there is a clear choice when Gail Brewer is up for election…if indeed at her age she runs again.
MS. BREWER…LISTEN TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS. THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR YOU AND WHO YOU REPRESENT.
Pablo Zevallos or Andrea Fondulas both New Leaders Council alum are more likely than not to replace her and I doubt they truly care.
More important: write to her *now*and tell her that if she doesn’t support registering all motorized vehicles, you won’t support her re-election.
I don’t know why she is so tone-deaf on this issue.
FYI… As you can see in the photo this was NOT an electric vehicle. Mopeds like this are already required to be registered with the DMV and be insured.
It could have easily been an e-bike or scooter going 40 mph that hit her and there would be no registration or license plate. To oppose registering something that is motorized and able to cause bodily harm or death to someone, is insane.
Gale Brewer should be supporting the Robert Holden’s bill and listen to her constituents.
People on Mopeds, scooters, bikes Do not obey traffic signals, and this is not only dangerous, it’s illegal. The police need to ticket these people.
Only when we have a mayor and city council that demands NYPD enforce violations of traffic safety regulations, then and only then will the egregious assault on our quality of life by these and other two wheeled vehicles be addressed.
Oh weird another innocent bystander was hit by a moped driver. Want to see my surprised face?
“The driver abandoned the moped, which witnesses said was unregistered, and fled, police added.”
Unregistered? Really, does anyone register these things? If so, they’re certainly the exception. It is ridiculous that no reasonable control is put on any wheeled vehicles capable of exceeding the city’s 25mph speed limit, including all mopeds and electric bikes that should be required to be licensed, registered and insured – you know, like cars that have to conform to common sense laws and regulations . Restaurant delivery vehicles should also be required to clearly display a number and the name of the restaurant. This isn’t earth-shattering stuff, it’s common sense to deter hit-and-run activities that now occur very regularly throughout the city. And there has to be enforcement – why are there regularly dozens of police scooters sitting dormant in Central Park when they could and should be on the streets patrolling for all citizens and also capable of pursuing e-bikes, mopeds and bikes as they now disregard all traffic laws and cause injuries.
All great ideas Mike. Great ideas that would work in any place other than NYC. In NYC there is no enforcement of laws, so even if you required restaurants to identify their bikers, nobody would do it and nobody would enforce it DESPITE NYC HIRING 100 PEOPLE to do so and adding another 20 pages to the already bloated code.
Our streets are dangerous. I hope the Rag will cover car crashes and pedestrians and cyclists struck by cars with the same vigor that you cover those struck by e-bikes and scooters.
Been reading for years, and they certainly do cover car crashes. Not sure the motivation behind this post.
Gale Brewer is always out and about for those pot store photo ops with the Sheriff—she loves to show up for those. But she seems to be indifferent about a real hazard that truly jeopardizes the lives of young and old on the UWS. She can, and should, do so much more to reign this hazard in. Just one day, I would LOVE to see her on Columbus Avenue with police calling these dangerous riders out. My fellow upper west siders!! We need someone to represent us who will protect our lives concerning this critical issue and the lives of our loved ones!!
Does Brewer receive money from the forces behind TransAlt?
Mark Gorton the founder of Open Plans and largest Trans Alt donor donated to her.
On the freeways there are too many 2-wheeled vehicles swerving around automobiles. You see this activity on the Henry Hudson as they pass while being between 4+ wheeled vehicles. They are putting their own lives at risk, not the case on local streets; where the types of moving humans from pedestrians on up to tractor trailers are all competing for space and green lights. You want to survive…you must move defensively. Assume anything can come from any direction. Keep watch on your kids. And to all (self included) stop in a safe place if you must use the smartphone! Or any other activity that adds a blind spot.
VERY SAD for this woman who was hit. My thoughts are with her and her family for full-recovery.
Where can a taxi SAFELY pickup and drop off passengers if the street has a dedicated bike lane? Are they permitted to stop adjacent to curb in the bike lane so there’s no space between taxi and sidewalk for any type of two-wheeler to potentially collide with passenger?
It’s almost like dedicated bike lanes were a bad idea.
There is no bike lane on west 72 street and mopeds should not be in them .
Compared to what? Bicycles riding in the vehicular lanes as they used to?
Well moped riders should NOT be in the bike lanes to begin with.
I was curious about this myself because I’ve had issues with cab drivers not stopping in a safe spot. They’re not allowed to stop adjacent to the curb in the bike lane. They are however allowed to do it in a bus lane. Here’s a diagram: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/tlc/downloads/pdf/bus_bike_aves_broch_18_taxi.pdf
No arrest is EVER made. I hope the victim has good health insurance. I hope no cyclists were inconvenienced by this mess on the street- because that is all that’s important!
NYC-EVSA!
I notice that the second photo shows a police officer sitting on the moped that was involved in the collision. I wonder if any of the investigators tried to get fingerprints off the hand grips and other surfaces before that officer touched it with his ungloved hands.
These accidents happen daily all over the city, whether it is a moped, e bike or scooter. Nothing is being done to stop this crisis. It is why we started NYC-EVSA. Police report less than 10% of these crashes with injuries. Please visit
http://www.nycevsa.org to watch our videos, see the bills we support, join our cause ( its free). Our only agenda is safety for ALL. Our quality of life has greatly diminished due to the egregious riding of e bikes abd mopeds. There is ZERO accountability. Nothing will change without it. E bikes must be registered abd mooeds have no place in our city. They were allowed during Covid. This experiment has FAILED.
Please make sure you get an accurate police report of hit. Its hard to pass legislation for regulation when the stats are SO entirely off.
Vehicles with motors do not belong in out city parks. Parks are for recreation NOT transportation.
http://www.nycevsa.org
The scourge of e-bikes and mopeds is not being taken seriously by our elected officials. The E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, over 900 members strong, is holding a large Town Hall in September on the UWS, and everyone who is concerned is invited. Numerous elected officials will be there and their feet will be held to the fire! For more info, email nyc-evsa@outlook.com, or hit the contact button on our website, nycevsa.org . Let’s take our streets back already!!!
Looking forward to joining!
I’m so grateful for the West Side Rag covering this – couldn’t find coverage anywhere else. It is sad that with so many people watching the accident, no one tackled the driver as he fled. Agree with other commenters: the mopeds and e-bikes are a menace and should be regulated!
Fact – Gale Brewer opposes getting mopeds and e-bikes registered. Take it up with her because if this driver was registered, we would know who he is and where to find him.
This vehicle type is already required to be registered and was not. So your logic does not hold. Cars are required to be registered as well and our streets are full of cars with fake temp tags and ghost plates. Even if it was registered, there is a good chance the driver of the moped was not the registered owner. You’d think the registered owner could be held responsible but they cannot. Which is the exact reason why traffic camera citations do not come with any points on your license and why many folks continue to rack them up.
Like unrelenting gun violence in this country, we have become enured to the reckless cyclists in Manhattan. Like gun manufacturers and dealers, unregulated food delivery services and Lyft have taken over the streets of Manhattan. At this point, I refuse to offer condolences for any mishap. No one cares. If they did, changes would be made. As it is, any concern on my part is wasted energy. I’m out.
There are a number of issues here-and reasons why the city (and state) have done almost nothing to regulate e-bikes and mopeds. What they have done is confiscate some unlicensed mopeds, but since most mopeds are unlicensed this is a drop in the bucket. They have done nothing at all about licensing and registering e-bikes. In fact the DOT has seemingly been on a major PR campaign to make everyone a biking advocate unsafe streets and all!! They’ve not so much as put up a few signs to say that riding on our sidewalks is illegal!
Right now there is support for a bill in the City Council to pass Intro 0606 called Priscilla’s Law (after a woman killed by a Citibike which ran a red light. He got a ticket for running a red light!!) . Despite some 30 odd council members signing on, Adrienne Adams who schedules hearings-has REFUSED to even schedule one to discuss the matter!! To everyone out there in WSRland who has had their safety, health and quality of life greatly diminished by lawless E-bikes, you should be calling and writing your Council members, Adrienne Adams, your Mayor, and your Assembly members to express your outrage!
If WE don’t take matters into our own hands this will not change! The reasons are many. There is a monied lobby who donates big money to elected leaders to pressure them to NOT REGULATE or ENFORCE LAWS for traffic violations and recklessness by delivery men working for the food delivery apps the lobby is shilling for! The Mayor says the situation is a mess and has done nothing about it for 2 years now!! He says he doesn’t want to encumber the deliveristas!! And that’s despite being very aware of the life altering injuries on NY pedestrians from e-bikes that many deliveristas ride. Imagine if he said that about taxi or Uber drivers!!
Call every elected leader you can!! Call your police precincts and demand enforcement. Join the only grassroots organization fighting for common sense regulation for e-bikes and mopeds: nycevsa.org
Everyday this dereliction of duty continues another New Yorker or tourist is severely injured or worse.
Bicycles, e-bikes, mopeds, upright scooters etc are an issue throughout NYC.
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-open-streets-is-supposed-to-make-areas-car-free-but-some-complain-mopeds-and-e-bikes-still-zip-through/
But it’s completely unclear how the accident occurred. The moped could have been in a bike lane and the taxi door opened in front of him. I don’t know. But the article doesn’t really explain. Even before I step off a bus, I look to my right to make sure nothing is coming.
A delivery driver working for one of the delivery apps i.e a publicly traded corporation and there is no meaningful way to identify this individual. Even if they had identified this driver you can be assured that they carried no insurance. Why would if they didn’t even have a license or a registered vehicle. This poor woman will incur the bills for the emergency visit. Even with good insurance a trip to the ER is not cheap.
This is what the absence of leadership looks like in NYC. This will continue to happen unfortunately.
Why is it meaningful that the app is owned by a publicly traded corporation?
Because they have the resources to ensure that people who deliver food for them have a registered vehicle and insurance as well as as valid drivers license and proper work authorization. Is that no obvious? They should be held accountable.
I just caught two people on mopeds stealing from a mailbox on 96th and WEA. I confronted them, had a slight scuflfle, and then they fled. Told a cop and he said to not interact with them but rather call 911.
Anyway, yeah, I hope at the very least, voters vote for law and order. Unlikely but I do hope it happens.
The electric bikes, mopeds, and motorcycles are a reason to move from Manhattan. These two-wheeled vehicles have turned into a serious safety hazard on Upper West Side. I used to love to walk all over the neighborhood, but that’s one pleasure that’s fallen by the wayside.
Ronnie,
Yes in despair to see Manhattan transformed from lovely for walking – to the now depressing normal of bicyclists everywhere and behaving badly.
Citibikers, racing bicyclists, delivery workers.
And bike lanes that wreck the streetscape.
Didn’t hit and run once become automatic jail time?
I witnessed the accident on Sunday and it was terrifying. The victim was crossing 72nd Street going east at Columbus, and the driver didn’t slow down at all – he ran right into her. Another elderly friend of mine was also hit recently by a similar vehicle in the Bronx and the driver also fled. We need more enforcement to reduce and stop dangerous driving and also better/safer work options for food delivery people, who are also frequently injured and killed on the job.
So i see many of you bashing the police for the chaos with those mopeds, but you people voted 2Xs for Big Bird Deblasio, he was one of the people that allowed those mopeds to be on the public streets. Mopeds proliferated under his administration. Dont forget Ydañis Rodriguez, the folk hero DOT commi$h, he was also advocating doe all the lawbreakers. The politicians are the biggest menace to society, they simple dont care if you are hit by a moped.
Exactly.
Finally someone who understands the cause of the issue.
Mentioning the color of clothing the VICTIM was wearing, in broad daylight, perpetuates the windshield bias mentality that somehow, had she not been wearing a bright color, the victim was culpable. The idea that pedestrians bear some responsibility if they happen to be wearing dark clothing when struck by a driver ignores the fact that many shift workers are required to wear dark colored uniforms and often commute in hours of darkness. This crash was in broad daylight and the operator of the vehicle is at fault. Knowing what the DRIVER was wearing could potentially be helpful as the many businesses in the area likely have cameras. I pray the victim recovers quickly.
Exactly.
Let us stop the victim blaming,
The cop is sitting on the moped? What?
A picture is shown of the driver that crashed into the victim. How long will it take to see this picture on the internet ?