Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference To Make Street Safety Announcement
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning, everyone. Before we begin, I would like to thank my partners in government, the dedicated advocates and every single person who has fought for the safer streets that New Yorkers deserve. I want to acknowledge our Attorney General Tish James, who is here and has been a leader in this fight; our DOT commissioner, Mr. Flynn; our DMO, Julia Kerson; as well as Corporation Counsel Steve Banks. Now, today we are here to take an action that is long overdue: moving to stop the sale and distribution of illegal e-bikes and motorized scooters on New York City streets. Exactly one week ago, Gabriel Nacato was riding a Deepower QS7 e-bike from Bensonhurst into Manhattan to meet with a career counselor and fill out his summer job applications. The vehicle he was riding is capable of reaching more than 30 miles per hour; a speed that should never be reached in our bike lanes. It is also one that is notoriously difficult to control, especially on sharp turns like the one coming off of the Brooklyn Bridge into Lower Manhattan. Here on Center Street, just steps from where we stand today, Gabriel was struck while riding the QS7 by a large SUV. The collision was fatal. He was just 17 years old. I spoke with Gabriel’s mother, Norma, soon after that crash. I know that the despair that she is feeling is unimaginable and that there are no words that can describe the pain of this loss for her, for their family and for their friends. To them, I grieve alongside you. New York City grieves alongside you. And in that grief, we hold the knowledge that Gabriel should still be here with us today. Illegal electric vehicles like the Deepower QS7 have cost too many New Yorkers their lives. This past May, our city witnessed yet another horrific crash when Francis Del Valle, who was riding an illegal electric scooter capable of speeds of up to 53 miles per hour, collided with Dmytro Stechenko, a cyclist, on the Queensborough Bridge. Since 2020, e-bikes capable of exceeding 25 miles per hour and those with motors that exceed 750 watts have been outlawed here in New York City. We cannot and will not accept these dangerous vehicles on our city streets. And yet the companies that sell these vehicles continue to market them to New Yorkers who trust that the product they are purchasing is legal in the city that they call home. Because if it weren't, why would their social media pages be flooded with targeted advertisements? Why would they see their neighbors riding these bikes to work? And why would these vehicles be so easy to buy? The burden of whether or not the bike they buy is safe and legal should not fall on working New Yorkers who are simply looking for a quick and low-cost mode of transportation. It is the responsibility of retailers to only sell the vehicles permissible under New York law in our city. That is why today, our administration, through our Corporation Counsel, is sending a cease-and-desist letter to more than 40 online retailers that have been selling these illegal vehicles. These are retailers that include: Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Temu, Teverun, Walmart, Marketplace, Wayfair, Segway, Deepower and Wilson’s e-bikes — demanding that they immediately end the sale of prohibited motorized scooters and e-bikes to New York City residents and New York City businesses. We are also requesting that the individuals responsible at these online marketplaces meet with both DOT and NYPD officials as well as the New York City Law Department to develop cooperative measures aimed at eliminating the illegal distribution of these vehicles into our city. Now, if these more than 40 companies do not comply and instead choose to continue selling these unlawful scooters and e-bikes, these online retailers risk facing civil penalties of up to $2,000 for each individual infraction. I am grateful for Attorney General James' quick and decisive action in issuing a consumer alert this past Friday, reminding consumers that not all electric vehicles for sale are safe or legal. Yet to address this issue at its root, we need even stronger measures to prevent these illegal vehicles from making it onto our streets in the first place. Going forward, we will work closely with the City Council and our partners in Albany, as well as Attorney General James, to explore further legislative avenues that will ensure that only the safest methods of transportation are the ones available to New Yorkers. There is no way around it. Gabriel should still be with us today. He should be submitting his summer job applications and practicing for an upcoming interview. He should be enjoying his time off with his friends and spending summer evenings with his family. I know there is nothing that will ease the pain of his loss. However, we can still do right by the rest of New York City. And we can still ensure that Gabriel’s legacy is one of saving the lives of others as we keep these vehicles off our streets in his name. That is the city we owe to every New Yorker, and that is the city we will deliver. Thank you. I will now pass it over to our partner in this work and so much more, Attorney General Tish James.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think first and foremost is who is actually selling these kinds of vehicles. We're talking about e-bikes that go beyond the legal limit of speed; we're talking about scooters as well, stand-up scooters that go beyond the limits of wattage; and we're also talking about the mopeds that do not have VINs that are actually available to be seen by the naked eye. I don't know, Steve, if you want to add any additional details to that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, we are talking about a maximum fine of $2,000 that will be issued up to that amount for each individual infraction. And what we have seen in the past in the issuing of cease-and-desist letters is that you get immediate compliance for a number of those actors who are then alerted to what the fiscal cost would be of operating outside of the bounds of the law. And then there is the need, as you've alluded to, for regular monitoring of this. I'm going to bring up our corporation counsel to add to that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I think what we've seen is that once we bring the actions of these kinds of retailers and companies into the sunlight, it becomes far harder for them to defend what they are doing. I'm going to bring up our corporation counsel to speak a little bit more about the specifics of it.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI believe that we need to improve and expand the bike lane network. We need to ensure that every single New Yorker can travel around the city safely, no matter their mode of transit. And that is something that has been part of the conversations I've had with our DOT commissioner from the very beginning of our administration. We want to ensure every New Yorker can get around the city safely and never has to doubt whether their mode of transit is impacting their safety in that moment.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThat's a lot of characters. He must have the pro account. I'm assuming that's in response to Abdul El-Sayed's victory yesterday evening. And I think first I'd just like to congratulate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on his victory. He ran a campaign where it was best described by his words of, “money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for all.” And if those simple commitments and beliefs are what drives Representative Johnson to these kinds of conclusions, I think it shows you how deeply out of touch the Republican party is with the concerns of working-class Americans, because what we have seen is, despite him facing more than $60 million in outside spending, he was able to prevail with a focus on a cost-of-living crisis and the way in which healthcare is exceedingly out of reach for those who have helped to make this country what it is.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are going to continue to do these kinds of inspections because the safety of New Yorkers is paramount. Now, of those 180 inspections that were conducted, there were none that were deemed to be an immediate public safety threat to New Yorkers. However, as you said, there were some that required a partial stop work order, and some that required a full stop work order. And what we've also found, because I know in conversations that we've had about this in the past, there have been questions raised as to, is there a specific concern that should be had about office-to-residential conversions. And in these inspections and in our work assessing the landscape of our city, since the issue was raised with the Pfizer building, we have not found a reason to be concerned with those conversions innately.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThere are going to be more inspections and I also had the honor, frankly, of welcoming a number of those DOB inspectors and FDNY members to City Hall who went into that building and to thank them for their heroism, because it is truly a heroic act to go into a building that we all know is structurally unsound and do the work necessary to safeguard it.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think, first and foremost, we can add our voices to the fact that Delaney Hall should be closed. That is something that you have heard from a number of elected officials. And yes, you're right that when I was a candidate, I was outside of Delaney Hall after Mayor Baraka was arrested and detained. And this is just one symptom of a federal administration's approach to immigration enforcement that has foregrounded cruelty and inhumanity. And I do believe that ICE should be abolished. I do think that there should be humanity back at the heart of the way in which our country conducts immigration enforcement. And what we are seeing is that these are not intellectual debates; these are conversations that have fatal consequences if we continue with the kinds of policies that we're seeing the federal government pursue.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceMy focus thus far has been on New York City, and what I will tell you is that I know that many New Yorkers were incredibly excited at the results. I tried to stay up until it was called, but then I eventually called it a day. But I do wish him the best.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI will leave much of the assessment to pundits. What I will say is that when you are facing $60 million in outside spending, you are facing almost what feels like surround sound across a state where people are hearing a message about you again and again and again. And to win this race as someone who is not currently holding elected office? It is a testament to what he ran on and also the way he ran the campaign. And I think I saw somewhere that he held more than 500 in-person events across the state of Michigan. That's the kind of work it's going to take to ensure that we are winning in November. And I truly give kudos to him and to the team that he built around him. I think the message of money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for all, is one that even New Yorkers can relate to. Thank you all very much. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference To Make Street Safety Announcement.