Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

TransAlt Backs Albany E-Bike Bill With No Helmet or Age Restrictions

Transportation Alternatives has issued a memo of support for an e-bike bill that is an improvement over the one introduced by Martin Dilan and David Gantt.

State Senator Dilan, of Brooklyn, and Assembly Member Gantt of Rochester have for years introduced legislation that would define electric bikes as bicycles, rather than motor vehicles, correcting a kink in state law that makes e-bikes legal to own but illegal to operate on public streets. Lawmakers have repeatedly failed to get the bill to the governor's desk.

The TransAlt-backed bill, sponsored by Sen. Thomas O'Mara of Elmira and Brooklyn Assembly rep Nick Perry, is superior to Dilan/Gantt in a few ways.

Dilan/Gantt would require helmets for all e-bike riders, which would discourage ridership. It would also ban people age 16 and under from riding e-bikes, even as passengers -- meaning, for example, parents would be prohibited from transporting children. The O'Mara/Perry bill does not have those restrictions.

Like Dilan/Gantt, O'Mara/Perry would limit electric motors to 750 watts and govern top speeds at 20 mph.

The O'Mara/Perry bill passed the State Senate last year but died in Gantt's Assembly transportation committee.

Dilan is a co-sponsor of O'Mara/Perry, which according to TransAlt Legislative and Legal Director Marco Conner is backed by “a growing coalition of organizations and businesses.”

“It is the legislation with the buy-in and momentum to pass this session,” Conner told Streetsblog.

You can check out the TransAlt support memo here.

Brooklyn City Council Member Rafael Espinal, who publicly called on Mayor de Blasio to cease harassing working cyclists who rely on e-bikes, has drafted a resolution in support of the Dilan/Gantt bill. Streetsblog has a message in with Espinal's office to gauge his position on O'Mara/Perry.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Wednesday’s Headlines: To Repeat, This is Not an ‘Accident’ Edition

The mayor can't stop calling preventable crashes "accidents." Plus other news.

April 2, 2025

‘The Carnage is Intolerable’: Rep. Jamie Raskin on Why Bike Safety is Becoming Bipartisan

"We need to reject any insinuation that it's not a national priority to make local roads safer."

April 1, 2025

Simcha Felder, Longtime Orthodox Brooklyn Pol and Street Safety Foe, is M.I.A. After Speeding Driver Kills Three

Council Member Simcha Felder, who has represented Orthodox South Brooklyn for more than 20 years, has been silent since a speeding driver killed a mother and her two children on Ocean Parkway.

April 1, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Another Rally For Action Edition

Maybe this time, the slaughter of the innocent will lead to change. Plus other news.

April 1, 2025

EXCLUSIVE: Citi Bike to Add E-Tandems to Fleet on April 1

The Lyft-owned rentable bike company confirmed the news after a Streetsblog reporter happened upon two Citi Bike employees testing out the new wheels in a remote corner of Forest Park in Queens

April 1, 2025
See all posts