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Super smash: NYC destroys mopeds, e-bikes as mayor celebrates illegal vehicle crackdown
By
Liam Quigley
Published Jun 12, 2025
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Liam Quigley
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Liam Quigley
Published Jun 12, 2025
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City sanitation crews steamrolled dozens of unregistered mopeds and e-bikes on Staten Island Thursday in a fiery show of force that Mayor Eric Adams said highlights his work to get illegal vehicles off city streets.
During a press conference before the smash session, Adams said authorities have seized more than 100,000 “ghost vehicles” around the five boroughs since he took office at the start of 2022, a number that primarily includes unauthorized mopeds and e-bikes. The tally includes more than 38,000 ghost cars — which have altered or phony license plates, or no registration at all.
The NYPD and MTA Police have targeted ghost cars in dragnet sting operations at bridge and tunnel crossings around the city since last year, as the transit agency prepared to launch its congestion pricing program, which relies on license plate readers to toll drivers to enter parts of Manhattan.
Adams has also directed police and other agencies to crack down on unregistered mopeds. The two-wheeled vehicles exploded in popularity during the pandemic and are used by many food delivery workers, but have also fueled complaints among many New Yorkers. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who previously led the sanitation department, has ordered her officers to issue criminal summonses to bicyclists who run red lights, rather than civil penalties.
It was a bad day to be an e-bike in New York City.
Liam Quigley
“This morning is not just about crushing mopeds,” said Tisch. It is about crushing the criminal activity and quality of life activities that come with them.”
“Far too often, they are used to rob, to hit, and to run, to cause chaos on our streets and cheat the system.”
Tisch credited the crackdown as playing a part in reducing crime in the city overall.
The crews crushed a Citi Bike as part of the pile of roughly 200 two-wheelers that crews steamrolled during Thursday’s event. Officials did not explain why a bike from the sharing system was among the heap of allegedly illegal vehicles.
A battery in an electric scooter ignited in the carnage, causing thick black smoke to billow over the Staten Island sanitation facility. A police department drone whirred through the smoke as the mayor looked on.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
sanitation
staten island
transportation
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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