Delivery workers protested outside Gov. Hochul's office, expressing concern over proposed e-bike regulations they feel are harmful and unclear. The proposals include a bike lane speed limit enforced by the NYPD and reclassifying heavier e-bikes as mopeds, which would subject riders to stricter licensing. Advocates like Shawn Garcia emphasize the need for clear legislative direction, as there's a lack of effective solutions to issues like battery fires and roadway safety. Critics argue the proposals could lead to unjust targeting of workers, with calls for better leadership from the city officials.
"It's hard to these conversations without the ammunition of what good legislation or good ideas look like," said Shawn Garcia, director of advocacy at Transportation Alternatives.
"These proposals will turn our city's bike lanes into a ticketing-to-deportation pipeline that will do Trump's dirty work for him, criminalizing hard-working New Yorkers as a pretext for cruelly removing them from their communities," said Ligia Guallpa, the executive director of Worker's Justice Project.
A spokesperson for the governor defended the proposals as centering safety, stating, "These proposals reflect Gov. Hochul's commitment to ensuring roadway safety for all users and we look forward to working with the Legislature throughout the budget process to achieve that goal."
For now, workers know what they don't want - two proposals offered by Gov. Hochul that would allow the city to establish a bike lane speed limit to be enforced by the NYPD, and the reclassification of 100-pound Class III e-bikes as mopeds.
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