Why You Should Care About de Blasio’s E-Bike Crackdown

As of the first of this month, Mayor de Blasio's e-bike crackdown is officially underway.

E-bikes are legal to own but not to operate on city streets. Prompted mainly by complaints about e-bike riders aired on WNYC, de Blasio decided last year to make a show of getting tough, supposedly by fining the restaurants that employ workers on e-bikes.

But since most delivery workers operate as independent contractors and own their bikes, the stops are expected to cost individuals hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars in fines and lost property. For undocumented immigrant workers, the arrests could even lead to deportation.

De Blasio's decision to create a spectacle of penalizing delivery workers is getting attention in the national press. Now, an installment of "Why You Should Care" from YouTuber Rina Krack succinctly conveys what's wrong in a five-minute explainer:

Krack doesn't mince words. "Cars are the number one cause of injury and death on the streets of New York, not immigrants trying to deliver your Tom Yum," she says. "In a notoriously-congested city like New York, encouraging e-bike use and protected cycling infrastructure is absolutely essential."