E-bikes, and motorized scooters and pedicabs were supposed to be the City’s answer to reducing cars in Manhattan, the green fantasy of City Hall. Now, many bike lanes later the City is reeling from the accidents and deaths that they’ve caused. Since the motorized vehicles can go along at the same speed as the cars and a number of them don’t stop at traffic lights, many New Yorkers are afraid to cross the street.
In the case of the motorized pedicab drivers, they’re committing crimes. They have been seen scamming tourists by charging way too much for their rides. The City Council is now considering meters on the pedicabs, a little late since they’ve known about the scamming for years.
In addition, Central Park’s horse drawn carriage drivers have been experiencing a rash of assaults, and bullying from the motorized pedicab drivers occupying the horses-only staging areas at Central Park South and 6th and 7th Avenues. One carriage driver said, “Three pedicab drivers attacked me from behind. They’re from Uzbekistan or Tajikistan. I don’t fault the police for the unsafe conditions – it’s the City Council. They want to get rid of the carriages.”
Unfortunately, the carriage drivers say their 911 & 311 complaints rarely see any response and that the police don’t come when called. NYPD Commissioner Tisch said in her Roosevelt House talk on January 12, 2026, that 911 and 311 were handled promptly, but apparently not for assaults on carriage drivers.
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NY City Council Speaker Julie Menin’s office has similarly shirked her duty to protect the carriage drivers from assaults. It’s ironic that Speaker Menin, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, has no empathy for the carriage drivers who are victims of physical attacks made worse by New York Police Department, NYPD, failing to do their duty.
It boggles the mind that Commissioner Tisch, Speaker Menin, the City Council and NYPD continue to allow the carriage drivers who are tax paying constituents to be attacked. It should be noted that both Tisch and Menin have family ties to the billion dollar real estate industry and it’s thought that real estate is attempting to get the stables slyly by pushing the anti-carriage horse agenda. Real estate funds some of the activist lobbying groups.
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Recently, attacks on the carriage drivers have increased as the motorized pedicab drivers physically attack and bully them with impunity due to a complete lack of police presence. They say, “No improvements. Getting worse just about every day unfortunately.” The police don’t show up and make no effort to enforce the horses only designated zones.
In the news, a beautiful carriage horse, Deniz, 16 years old, apparently had a heart attack June 9, 2026. Immediately, Mayor Mamdani and some City Council members used the incident sensationalistically as an excuse to call for a ban on the industry. An equine veterinarian said, “It’s likely cardiac – Cornell is doing a necropsy. It is not a crime for a horse, or anyone, to die of natural causes. It’s only tragic and sad. As usual with this issue, politicians need an incident to react to. I’m curious how many emergency vet practices exist in NYC and what the average daily number of critical emergencies leading to death occurs in the city’s companion animals. Just because this occurs behind closed doors, unlike a death of a working horse in Manhattan, it would be a good analogy regarding the life and death of city animals.”
The mayor’s automatic, unthinking reaction about Deniz was uncalled for since he other politicians say nothing about closing down e-biker delivery services due to the many accidents and deaths they cause, averaging 20 excess deaths per year, and 914 brain and spinal damage e-biker accidents over 5 years ending in 2023 according to NYU Langone Medical.
As this lack of police presence plays out, motorized e-bikers, many working for food delivery services, continue to cause accidents, some with fatalities and the police refuse to write up most of those accidents as well.
A doormen at the Row Hotel on 8th Avenue said recently, “I’ve seen the police give carte blanche to the e-bikers, after accidents.” They’re continuing to not write them up, as NYU Langone already reported with brain injuries from e-bike accidents and almost no police reports.
A new NY City Council bill, Intro 0600, to license e-bikes will be doomed to fail just like licensing the pedicabs has failed since there are thousands on the streets unlicensed and uninsured. Regulating speed is another red herring since lawyers for the e-bikers say they would sue the City if that’s attempted.
Taxpayers are currently paying for asylum seekers/immigrant housing some of which may be e-biker food delivery workers who work for private companies. In the NYC Comptroller’s budget report about $1.4 billion this year was spent for asylum seekers, with similar amounts predicted going forward for years to come (hardly a sustainable plan.) The City currently pays for 28,205 asylum seekers in hotels and other accommodations, down from a high a few years ago of 250,000. There are presently 65,000 e-biker food delivery workers. The Comptroller’s office didn’t have the statistics on whether or not the asylum seekers were truly fleeing life threatening situations in their countries of origin or how many e-biker delivery workers have their food and lodging paid for by the City.
One such City paid for hotel housing e-biker delivery workers is the boutique Upper East Side Bentley Hotel, that used to host weddings. Currently, it’s closed for reservations and there’s a screen in front with e-bikes behind it. The question is why should taxpayers be subsidizing private food delivery companies, who also donate to politicians, by paying for their worker housing? Another question, when will the free housing for immigrants come to an end? Lastly, when will the police do their job and protect carriage drivers?
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