Photo: Matt Jiggins via Flickr
Free Upper West Side News, Delivered To Your Inbox
At Community Board 7’s Transportation Committee meeting on Tuesday, board members and residents shared growing concerns about a recent NYPD policy shift: giving cyclists criminal court summonses for minor traffic violations, rather than standard tickets.
Advertisement
The new approach, which went into effect at the end of last month, means that riders who roll through a red light — and even those who may not actually be breaking the law — could end up in criminal court, requiring an in-person appearance. This has caused concerns about both overburdening the courts and disproportionately impacting lower-income and immigrant communities.
At the meeting, several board members questioned how the NYPD is enforcing the policy, especially in situations where cyclists might actually be following the rules. One member brought up a recent New York Post story about Oliver Casey Esparza, a cyclist who’s suing the city after he got a criminal summons for going through a red light while following the pedestrian walk signal. That move is legal, according to a 2019 City Council law. The lawsuit suggests police may be misapplying the rule, leaving some lawful riders unfairly penalized.
Another board member recalled witnessing what felt like a sweeping crackdown—what they called a “dragnet”—on the Upper West Side. Several cyclists were stopped, including a 17-year-old who was reportedly in tears. “There are a lot of unsafe conditions on the street,” the board member said. “But the police just can’t go after the most egregious violators because they’re zooming in and dangling through intersections. They can’t be caught. It’s the people going slowly, carefully through the red light making sure no one’s around [at] five miles an hour. Those are the people [who] get caught in the dragnet, and that’s not making the streets safer.”
Advertisement
Many in attendance questioned whether the new policy is really targeting dangerous behavior, or if it’s casting too wide a net and catching cautious riders in the process.
The policy has also sparked broader debate. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says it’s meant to address safety issues tied to e-bikes and scooters. But so far, traditional cyclists make up the majority of those being summoned—about 74%, according to the data. Critics, including City Council Member Gale Brewer, say the move criminalizes relatively low-level offenses and might discourage people from biking in the city altogether.
No formal resolution was passed at the meeting; CB7 will be hosting a public forum in June, inviting legal experts, advocates, and NYPD reps to weigh in on the policy and possible alternatives.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
Meanwhile there are hundreds of drivers out there with multiple unpaid tickets for things like speeding in school zones and running red lights. It would be so easy to stop them — boot the cars — but the NYPD does nothing and would rather harass bikers than solve the real problem. Meanwhile, the idiot anti-bike people on the UWS will applaud them for punishing bikers while drivers, who can and do kill people when they break the law, get away with it.
They ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Cyclists need to obey traffic laws. Yes, they should be able to run a light when there is no traffic. Too often, they’re rolling through crosswalks and pedestrians need to dodge them. They also need to get off the sidewalks. But if it takes criminal summons for cyclists to give pedestrians the right of way, maybe they do need to go in front of a judge.
Well, it’s easier to cite a bicyclist slowly rolling through a red than it is to cite an e-bike driver speeding through the red at 20MPH.
Just what is the NYPD to do?
That said plenty of peddle bicyclists ride irresponsibly, so they should be cited–especially if riding through pedestrian filled crosswalks or riding down the sidewalk.
We are thankful that the community board is doing something to address the cyclists. It’s gotten unsafe for pedestrians. It’s gotten out of control, especially with the e-bikes: they go too fast, they don’t stop at red lights, they go the wrong way on a one way street, they don’t stay in the bike lane, etc. We all know the issues. It’s difficult to even walk around the neighborhood without almost getting hit.
It seems to be lost on the author that this is unsafe for the cyclists as well. Stopping at red lights is also meant to protect them! I have seen multiple accidents where the cyclist gets hit because they go into an intersection at a red light and the cars or other cyclists don’t see them coming. This is just like a red light law for cars. It’s meant to protect everybody.
i have recently noticed that delivery bicyclists have been stopping at red lights — not all of those riders but many of them — and it is noticeable because it happened so infrequently in recent years. I infer that the reason this is occurring is that the delivery community has become aware of the new police policy. So while our community board is wringing its hands over the belief that the policy is not being applied to everyone who violates it, but only to those riding slowly enough to be caught, the community at large is better off because of the policy. Maybe, just maybe, this will instill among the bike riders a recognition that they need to adhere to the traffic laws and not ride down and through pedestrians properly stepping into the roadway and the bike lanes. Instead of decrying the policy, our community board should be praising it, especially because when they originally applauded the bike lanes they so obviously failed to accompany it with a strong message that the bikers need to adhere to the law and stop at traffic lights and the police need to enforce those requirements. So they are a day late and a dollar short once again..
The intersection of W 66th and Columbus is problematic. Those lights all turn red at the same time to allow pedestrians to cross (which the usual set up makes difficult since so many cars coming through the park transverse want to turn left onto Columbus). Since bikes can go on the pedestrian walk signal it is possible that, even with everyone obeying the laws, a pedestrian will be hit by an e-bike going 30 mph.
Unfortunately most of the cyclists on the streets are riding e-bikes and do not follow the rules. Many do not use the dedicated bike lanes and take up the streets for vehicles – so they can argue both ways by going through red lights for “pedestrians” and “motor vehicles”. Hit by cyclists twice when crossing the streets and many near hit situations (Thought I was street smart as I am an immigrant growing up in a third world country). And worse, hit by a cyclist the moment I walked out of the apartment at pedestrian walkway, not even on the street. We need safer streets…
At the intersection of W66th and Columbus the lights all turnnred at the same time to allow pedestrians to cross. Before this was implemented it was difficult to cross on the south side of 66th because so many cars come through the VP transverse and want to turn left down Columbus. Bikes are allowed to go on pedestrian walk signals. Thos means that, even if everyone is obeying the law, it is possible to a pedestrian to be hit by an eBike goong 30 mph. There must be a better solution.
I guarantee you if bicycling and delivery separately become essentially illegal, two fundamentals of the NYC car-less lifestyle, the city will lose many more residents and dollars. This after the grift happening at the federal level killing tourism and directly stealing funds from states, cities, and individual citizens. This really has become a country of dumdums with too much displaced power at the rotting fish head down.
Now that nearly every bike I see is powered and moving as fast as -or faster than- car speed, I’m in agreement that making them obey car laws is the right thing to do. While many of you have grown up with delivery bikes, many of us newer folks and visitors are much less aware of the bikes at all. We know many have no lights, go against the traffic flow and go smoking fast, I resent them on sidewalks and using pedestrians as slalom gates. Ticket to enforce but let’s not give Puppy Killing Barbie Noem any way in either her gestapo ICE!
If they’re moving at car speed, make them ride by the rules of a car. And stay off the sidewalks while riding.