Andrew Fine testifies on e-bike deaths and need for licensing

Thank you, Chair.

I just want to take a moment ahead of my testimony here to register the outrage that I actually found common ground with transportation alternatives today.

We're all ticked off that it takes four and a half hours to get the public's input on this important legislation on street safety.

Thank you very much.

Please keep it down.

Please keep it down.

And I'd like to thank the three city council members who managed to actually stick around to listen to the public.

I think it's outrageous that we don't have a full panel here when we've all survived half the day.

I want to thank Speaker Menon for bringing attention to this important public safety issue and holding this historic hearing.

The body count on our streets continues to rise unabated, and it must stop with this city council.

This includes e-bike riders, 17 of which are dead this year so far, and that's an old count,

pedestrians throughout New York City and Central Park, and city bike riders, including the heartbreaking death of a 15-year-old doubled up on a city bike on East 14th Street just this month.

As a parent of three, two former teenage girls and one still teenage girl, this scares the living, you know what, out of me.

I want to say that the bike lobby, which is heavily funded by Uber, DoorDash, Lyft, we see many of them today.

They may wear T-shirts, they might be bearded, they might play the role of activists, but at the end of the day, I'd love you to ask them, are they paid for their appearance today?

Are they drawing a salary?

I can tell you one thing, that New York City E-Vehicle Safety Alliance is pure grassroots, all volunteer, and we love the city council to take this more seriously,

pass licensing and registration, because as Janet just said, that's the way to actually tell legal from illegal.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Next.