Wednesday’s Headlines: E-Bikes on the Block Edition

Streetsblog provides high-quality journalism and analysis for free — which is something to be celebrated in an era of paywalls. Once a year, we ask for your tax-deductible donations to support our reporters and editors as they advance the movement to end car dependency in our communities.

If you already support our work, thank you! If not, can we ask for your help? This year's fundraiser includes a special gift for our biggest supporters. Don't miss out.

Together, we can create a more livable, walkable, bikeable, equitable and enjoyable city for all. Happy holidays from the Streetsblog team!

As some writer once said, it'll be like Ivy Day in the committee room today as the City Council's Transportation Committee takes up a controversial bill that would require the city to create an entirely new bureaucracy to register electric bikes and create metal plates for them.

We've been covering the bill — Intro 606, introduced by Queens Council Member Robert Holden — for more than a year now, and we've analyzed it from all angles: that it could harm hard-working immigrants, that it logistically can't work, that it might even be illegal under state law, that electric bikes are not a public health crisis (but cars on the other hand ...), that other cities have had bad experiences with it, that it's not popular, that thousands of regular New Yorkers rely on e-bikes, that app companies need to do more to punish unsafe cycling, that no one in city government even knows the difference among all these motorized devices and therefore can't tell which are dangerous and which are not, and that there are so many ways to make roadways safer if only supporters of bills like this would get on board.

But emotion, not facts or data will likely rule the day today, starting even before the 10 a.m. hearing. Supporters of the bill will rally at City Hall and pull heartstrings: The bill is named for Priscilla Loke who was indeed a pedestrian killed by an electric bike rider.

Her death was inexcusable and the cyclist who hit her should be punished, but "Priscilla's Law" would not have saved Priscilla's life nor made accountability any easier: the cyclist who hit her remained on the scene, spoke to police, and was released with a ticket. And the electric Citi Bike he was riding already bears a registration number and is eminently trackable.

So what is this all about? As we have long argued, it is about car drivers seeking to reduce electric bike use so that they can eventually advocate for removing bike infrastructure because "no one" is biking. It's part of an ongoing culture war against cycling that makes no sense in an increasingly congested city in a polluted state in a fossil fuel-obsessed country on a warming planet.

Instead of registering e-bikes, the Council should seek to expand their use, which would reduce car use, reduce congestion and dramatically reduce injury-causing crashes.

But then, that's not an emotional argument; it's the facts. And we all know what facts are worth these days.

In other news:

• Like The Post, we also covered the famed Williamsburg pizzeria that is flouting city rules to keep its outdoor dining area open.
• There will be a lot of bloviating about Anthony Weiner's return to politics, but that's the beauty of electoral politics — if he can win over a majority of voters in the very competitive district Lower Manhattan district, that's enough for us (especially since he claims to no longer hate bikes). (NYDN, NY Post, pun-filled as always, )
• After we broke the story about a proposed expansion of the downtown heliport, amNY followed, albeit with fewer teeth.
• Slow buses on Flatbush Avenue are a threat to local businesses. So where is the Bus (and Small Business) Mayor when we need him? (amNY)
• Gov. Hochul's poll numbers are even worse than before. (NY Post)
• The Post got a second-day story out of the drunk guy who drove down the LIRR tracks.
• Santa-Con, one of the three legs of the Hipster Triple Crown, is approaching — but don't try to bring any booze on the MTA. (NY Post)
• Like Streetsblog two weeks ago, NY Focus did a dive into how one governor is using state cash to bolster transit ... and to hope that Kathy Hochul follows suit.
• And now it's time to honor those of you who made the ultimate gift to us here at Streetsblog, donating a few (and sometimes more) bucks to keep the lights on. If you want to join the honor roll, click below. But until then, thanks, John! Thanks, Kevin! Thanks, Thomas! Thanks, Eve!