Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cyclists say e-bikes, scooters are making NYC bridges more dangerous, with ‘laughable’ enforcement
By
Charles Lane
Published Jul 31, 2023
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 .
By
Charles Lane
Published Jul 31, 2023
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
Brooklyn resident Douglas Singleton says he and his wife Shari Stadel – both long time cyclists in the city – are rethinking the practice after Stadel wound up in the emergency room following a collision on the Manhattan Bridge.
On Wednesday, Stadel was in an accident on the bridge’s bike lane, along with several other people who were allegedly riding motorized scooters. Her injuries include a concussion, stitches on her forehead, and bruises. She spent two days in the hospital and was released Friday, but doesn’t remember what happened.
“She remembers getting onto the bridge, riding her bike, and then she doesn't remember anything else,” said Singleton, reached by phone as Stadel was being discharged from the hospital Friday afternoon.
The accident has renewed concerns about the safety of electric bikes and scooters since they were legalized in 2020 — following years of pushback and concern from city officials, including former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The biggest safety concerns and enforcement efforts around the machines have focused on the storage and maintenance of lithium-ion batteries which have caused a dramatic uptick in fires in recent years. But traditional cyclists are voicing increasing fears about sharing bike lanes with the high-speed vehicles — and many are asking why the police are not enforcing the rules. Mopeds are not permitted to ride in bike lanes. E-bikes are allowed as long as they meet city regulations.
Stadel declined to be interviewed, but according to her husband, this was her second collision with a scooter while cycling on the Manhattan Bridge. The first incident happened around two years ago.
“I’m questioning how rational it is to bike to and from work as much as we do,” said Singleton. “We're bikers, we like doing it, we believe in it, but I'm pretty sure we're going to have to question it.”
Alex Ritter, 26, a cyclist from Brooklyn, says the number of speeding scooters on the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges is getting worse.
“I have no problem with the electric bikes that go no faster than I could on my bike,” he said. “But when you have a moped, gas powered or electric, that weighs a hundred-plus pounds, it’s going to cause a lot more damage than two cyclists crashing.”
In the days since Stadel’s accident, dozens of cyclists have taken to social media to express concerns over commuting across the city’s bridges. They have also voiced fear at the increase in the number of scooters using the city’s bike lanes at unsafe speeds.
So far this year, NYPD data shows it issued 6,083 tickets to bicyclists and 1,158 for e-bikes. Meanwhile, it has issued 367 violations to e-scooters, including 190 for running red lights, and 15 for unauthorized use on a sidewalk. The NYPD did not respond to questions about the data.
“That's laughable,” said Singleton.
“If you stand on the middle of the bike pass on Manhattan Bridge for a half hour, tell me how many e-scooters you clock speeding recklessly across the bridge? In a half hour, multiple dozens.”
City Councilmember Lincoln Restler, whose district includes DUMBO, Greenpoint and Brooklyn Heights, has expressed reluctance to push for more enforcement of scooters, saying they’re typically used by deliveristas pressured by food delivery apps to travel at unsafe speeds.
It’s a point echoed by John Surico, a journalist and researcher who studies transportation.
“You can really put them in financial harm,” he said, noting that previous crackdowns largely targeted delivery workers, who are often immigrant men with low-paying jobs. At the same time, he said, “There were plenty of wealthier New Yorkers that had e-bikes that were riding around and didn’t get the same tickets.”
Surcio said that the summons data – which shows that many more cyclists are being stopped than scooter riders – is actually proportional to bike and scooter use in the city. He says scooter accidents get outsized attention from the media because they are new.
“The number of violations that cars get versus the attention they get on the streets, when we're living in a time of record traffic violence again this year, it seems a bit misaligned for me,” he said.
Still, some cyclists say that whatever enforcement is happening is not enough.
“We know what the laws are, the laws are very obvious,” said e-bike rider Derrick Chan, who witnessed Wednesday’s accident on the Manhattan Bridge. “Why is there no enforcement?”
As far as Stadel’s accident on Wednesday, the NYPD has no report of it and it’s unclear what, exactly, happened. Witnesses reported seeing large amounts of blood coming from the misshapen leg of one of the scooter riders.
And the little she and her husband know about the day, they’ve pieced together from other people and reading about it on social media.
“She's still kind of going through trauma about all of this,” said her husband, Douglas Singleton.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated which vehicles are permitted in bike lanes.
Tagged
manhattan
cycling
brooklyn
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: Spy magazine is doing a Substack pop-up
Because the "Irony Epidemic" is hitting inboxes in honor of Spy's 40th anniversary, here are your early links: West Village gated school street, Trump still promising $5,000 checks, butter is in and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 8:57 a.m. ET
Bronx woman found dead and infant in critical condition after balcony fall, NYPD says
Police say it's still unclear whether the pair jumped, fell or were pushed.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Bronx woman found dead and infant in critical condition after balcony fall, NYPD says
Police say it's still unclear whether the pair jumped, fell or were pushed.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
After Trump defunding, thousands losing rental assistance in NYC may finally have relief
By
David Brand
Blind man dismissed from grand jury duty can sue NY for discrimination, judge rules
By
Samantha Max
Gatorade recall affects drinks sold in New York and New Jersey
By
Giulia Heyward
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 .