On Staten Island, N.Y., a clear resolve towards dismantling unauthorized motorbike use was exhibited as the mayor pledged to make a definitive change. Mayor Eric Adams, Borough President of Staten Island, Vito Fossella, and NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, gathered for a midday press conference. This took place within the confines of the city’s Sanitation Department premises close to Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island. During this event, they oversaw the destruction of over 200 non-registered bikes that the police had recently apprehended.
In addressing the audience, Mayor Adams stated that the day marked an endpoint for these unlawful bikes, designating the scrap heat as their ultimate destination. The public safety agenda is decisively making strides, as shown by the active dismantling of these seized vehicles, added Adams. The display visible on that day was a spectacle of over 200 unlawfully acquired dirt bikes, ATVs, and motorbikes rounded up by the NYPD this year, which were lined up at Fresh Kills Park awaiting decimation by bulldozers.
The mayor took a moment during his address to touch on the latest crime figures in the city. As per his words, an unidentified offender set alight 11 police vehicles the previous day. In total, 14 cars experienced some degree of damage, with 11 severely affected by fire, and three others found to contain unignited fire starters. Adams reassured that no casualties occurred and that Commissioner Tisch, alongside her unit, is actively investigating these incidents.
Expressing intent, Adams insisted that violence of such magnitude would not be tolerated in the city, particularly aimed at law enforcement authorities. The damage inflicted was far from acceptable, and the invisible hand behind these acts would be revealed in due course.
Adams further noted that numerous town halls and community meetings with the city’s residents inspired the administration to adopt a more forthright approach towards cleansing city streets of illegal vehicles. For Adams, public safety isn’t solely reliant on charts and figures; instead, it significantly revolves around the citizens’ sentiments.
Taking this course of thought further, he shed light on how often illegal mopeds, known as ghost cars, or fitted with ghost plates, become tools in criminal acts. According to him, these vehicles have been used in the past by culprits for quick getaways after conducting shootings, heists, and other violent criminal activities.
Since the commencement of the mayoral tenure, the NYPD was instrumental in the removal of over 62,000 illegal scooters, motorbikes, and ATVs, termed as ghost vehicles, along with more than 38,000 ghost cars. By the reckoning of city officials, this has led to an impressive 86% decrease in grand larceny incidents and a 68% reduction in moped-related robberies over the past year.
A decline of 57% in crimes involving mopeds reported to the police since 2024 was also highlighted by officials. They underscored that, citywide, the number of murders and shootings have reached unprecedented lows, an accomplishment acknowledged by both Mayor Adams and Commissioner Tisch.
Mayor Adams stated with certainty that the city was paving its way towards its sixth quarter of diminishing crime rates. Alluding to President Truman’s famous words in his concluding remarks, ‘the bike stops here’, he used this phrase quite aptly in his context.
By existing law, the registration and operation of off-road motorbikes, such as dirt bikes and ATVs, on any city roads in New York is deemed unlawful, a directive from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Commissioner Tisch decidedly brought a touch of humor during the serious proceedings. Quipping about how she used to dream as a little girl about witnessing a moped crushing event, she said, her presence marked the fulfillment of that dream. However, she was quick to bring the weight back on the discussion, stating that the event was not merely about crushing mopeds but symbolically about quashing the associated unlawful activities and quality of life detriments.
With her further addition, Tisch noted that these motorbikes usually lacked traceability, licensing, or any form of registration, thereby posing threats to pedestrians and other vehicles. The era when such illegal vehicles could be employed by troublemakers was coming to an end, as per Tisch’s remark.
NYPD officers across all boroughs have been deploying meticulous enforcement, coordinated tactics, and exhaustive investigations to recognize, intercept, and prevent these illegal vehicles from being engaged in crime.
Emphasising a legislative reform, Tisch made a call for modifications to the administrative code, aiming to criminalize the possession of an ATV within the city limits of New York. Enforcement against these ATVs, while currently legal to possess but illegal to run on city streets, is a challenging task for law enforcement.
Reiterating Tisch’s call for comprehensive laws that deter presence of ATVs within city limits, Staten Island’s Borough President Fossella urged for legislative uniformity from both the City Council and State Legislature. According to Fossella, such legislation would empower the NYPD more effectively in performing their duties. He hinted that demolitions like the one of the day could become a more frequent sight.
The press conference concluded with a symbolic gesture as the trio took control of construction vehicles to destroy hundreds of seized powered scooters. Large bulldozers ascended the rows of impounded vehicles, eventually leading to a fire at one end, which needed extinguishing by sanitation workers.