Dozens of new officers will crack down on NYC delivery workers riding e-bikes and mopeds

New York City’s transportation department plans to hire dozens of new officers who will crack down on delivery workers riding e-bikes and mopeds in unsafe ways.

The new $116 billion city budget includes money for 45 new peace officers who will be “trained to issue moving violations and enforce commercial cycling laws against businesses,” the department said in a release. The officers will work for a new “Department of Sustainable Delivery” within the transportation agency. They will be unarmed and deployed in 2028, according to the release.

“The newly created Department of Sustainable Delivery is yet another step that we’re taking to support delivery workers, keep pedestrians safe, and hold delivery app companies accountable for placing unrealistic expectations on their workers that put New Yorkers in harm’s way,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

The move is the latest example of Adams’ focus on street safety as he seeks reelection. Adams imposed a new 15 mph speed limit on e-bikes and moved to undo a redesign of a stretch of Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn to address complaints about a protected bike lane that the city’s own data showed had improved safety.

In the release, Adams urged the City Council to pass legislation giving the new Department of Sustainable Delivery added authority to penalize delivery apps for workers who ride recklessly.

"There are always concerns about any new policy that could give way to discriminatory policing of delivery workers and immigrants," City Council spokesperson Mara Davis said in an email. "We remain in discussions with advocates and constructive members of the mayoral administration to advance solutions on e-bike safety, sustainable delivery and street safety."

City data shows six pedestrians were killed by e-bike riders between 2021 and 2024, Gothamist previously reported. Transit officials have said e-bikes account for less than 4% of traffic injuries in the city. E-bikes with faulty batteries have been linked to hundreds of fires.

Adams has said e-bikes are contributing to a sense of disorder on city streets. But activists have protested increased ticketing of cyclists and e-bikers as unfair, arguing that drivers do not receive enough scrutiny from law enforcement.

Liam Quigley contributed reporting.