Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cuomo Vetoes E-Bike Bill, Calling It 'Fatally Flawed'
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Dec 26, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Scott Heins/Gothamist
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Dec 26, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Governor Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a bill that would have legalized electric bikes relied on by tens of thousands of immigrant delivery workers, his office confirmed.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, would have legalized electric bikes and electric scooters, capping speeds at 25 and 20 miles per hour, respectively. The e-bikes, which have a throttle on the handlebars, will remain illegal in the New Year—putting delivery workers at risk of steep fines and having their bikes seized in the New Year.
The veto was a blow for advocates who have been fighting for better working conditions for delivery workers, subject to at least $500 in fines for using e-bikes.
"I'm most sad for all of the workers in New York City who already ride their e-bikes who get harassed by NYPD and ticketed by NYPD on a daily basis," Helen Ho, the co-founder of Biking Public Project, told Gothamist. "I'm sad for them that this will continue to happen to them in the New Year."
Cuomo "hasn't lived a day as a delivery worker—not to say that that's a bad thing, but it's not his universe," Ho added.
"It's hard for him to empathize with the plight of the 40,000 workers who currently ride e-bikes on a daily basis," she said.
The legislation would have added the throttle-powered e-bikes to other types of electric bikes that are already legal—particularly "pedal-assist" e-bikes—a style of e-bikes used by massive corporations such as Amazon, UPS and DHL through a de Blasio administration pilot program and, for a short time, Citi Bike.
The bill passed in June with an overwhelmed majority; just six senators and four assemblymembers voted against the e-bike bill. Ramos said she plans to work to pass the bill in 2020 and every year going forward, "until we finally get the justice these delivery workers deserve."
"Our state has failed to help tens of thousands of New Yorkers who desperately need relief from the punitive measures taken against them every day for merely doing their jobs," Ramos said in a statement. "New York criminalizes delivery workers who are merely trying to make an honest living and slaps them with thousands of dollars in fines, effectively ruining their ability to support themselves and their families."
Added Rozic, "Despite this missed opportunity, my goal always was and will continue to be a path forward—bike or otherwise for our delivery workers, environment and transit starved communities."
In a statement upon vetoing the bill, Cuomo called the legislation "fatally flawed."
Cuomo said e-bikes and e-scooters could be a "useful tool" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But he said they also have "significant safety concerns," referencing the death of a 16-year-old e-scooter rider in Elizabeth, New Jersey, who died in a crash with a tow truck driver.
He proposed additional safety measures such as a lower speed limit as well as helmet requirements, citing a study in the American Journal of Otolaryngology that found head injuries have tripled in the past decade "due to the use of these motorized vehicles, and of these injuries, two-thirds of the victims were not wearing helmets."
"Helmets are a common-sense requirement that should be imposed on operators of these vehicles to protect public safety," he said.
Critics of such a requirement have pointed out mandating helmets discourages cycling overall, and urge better bike infrastructure instead.
Ho added, "Helmets are great to encourage but we should really design streets that are safe for all people."
There is also no data to support claims that throttle e-bikes are more dangerous for riders than the pedal-assisted e-bikes—or that various types of e-bikes are more dangerous than regular bikes.
While the bill's supporters are disappointed in the e-bike bill's veto, Cuomo did greenlight legislation that would revoke the license of drivers who have medical episodes before crashes, Streetsblog reports.
Tagged
Governor Andrew Cuomo
new york city
jessica ramos
e-bike crackdown
e-bike
Sydney Pereira
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:47 p.m. ET
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .