Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Thursday’s Headlines: NYCHA E-Bike Rules Edition

NYCHA moves to restrict the number and type of e-bikes allowed in its buildings. Plus other news.

12:01 AM EST on November 9, 2023

Photo: Google|

NYCHA’s Coney Island development on Surf Avenue.

The New York City Housing Authority is moving to restrict the number and type of e-bikes allowed in its residential buildings after a previous failed attempt to ban the vehicles completely, The City reported on Wednesday.

The "less Draconian" response, in the news site's words, comes after a spate of deadly fires tied to the lithium-ion batteries used to power the devices, which Streetsblog has covered extensively.

NYCHA's proposal would also crack down on uncertified and refurbished batteries, allowing only new "UL-certified" batteries.

That's harder than you might think. As good as the City's report was, it left out one detail: As Streetsblog Editor Gersh Kuntzman reported in last month, safe batteries cost way too much for many of the delivery workers who need them.

In other news:

  • Cyclist struck by 20-year-old curb jumper who also put a pedestrian in a coma. “I saw the pedestrian get hit and the next thing I knew I was hit as well. Could not have been more than a second, really. The speed of the car was … I couldn’t believe it,” Brandon Wheeler told the Daily News
  • Q54 buses are the MTA's latest to get bus-mounted enforcement cameras. (PIX 11)
  • Ackeem Chambers, 20, will serve three to nine years in prison for killing 18-year-old Jada Rollins on Eastern Parkway after he fled a traffic stop in 2022. (via Brooklyn DA)
  • MTA docs peg MSG-backed Penn Station cost at $2 billion more than advocates claim. (NY Post)
  • Council Member Lincoln Restler defied the mayor's claims he didn't represent "the community" in the McGuinness Boulevard bike lane debate on Tuesday, trouncing his Republican opponent 88 percent to 12 percent. (Emily Gallagher via Twitter)
  • ... while Bronx rep Marjorie Velazquez appears to have gone down over housing. (Gothamist)
  • MTA bus driver punched in Queens. (PIX 11)
  • Adams lawyers up as questions swarm over ties to Turkish government. (Gothamist, The City)
  • More and more communities are asking the city to implement daylighting — the act of removing parking from around an intersection — after years of ignoring a state law requiring it at every corner. Two more community boards called on DOT to reverse that policy on Wednesday. Check Streetsblog later on Thursday for coverage.
  • You can add your voice to the growing chorus of daylighting supporters here.
  • And finally, our Streetfilms pal Clarence Eckerson Jr. has done it again — using the power of his U.N.-recognized documentary skills to show how awesome the Berry Open Street is. Check it out here:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: What an Historic Day Edition

It was such a big deal that all sorts of strangers in the press corps showed up. Plus other news.

December 7, 2023

Council Votes to Repeal Decade-Old Law that Stalled Bike Lane Installation

The City Council repealed a notorious. out-dated law that imposed lengthy delays on the city before it could break ground on new bike lanes.

December 7, 2023

Dynamic! MTA Could Hike Congestion Pricing Toll 25% on Gridlock Alert Days

The MTA said it had that power, and modeled it in its environmental assessment (see footnote 2 below), but no one ever reported it, until Wednesday.

December 6, 2023

Judge Orders Trial for Hit-and-Run Driver Who Turned Down ‘Reasonable’ Sentencing Offer

Judge Brendan Lantry turns down driver's request for mere probation for killing a delivery worker in 2022. The trial will start in January.

December 6, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines: Another Big Day at City Hall Edition

Today is going to be another busy day for the livable streets crowd. So get ready with today's headlines.

December 6, 2023
See all posts