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Mamdani announces NYC will crack down on illegal e-bike retailers By Eyewitness News Wednesday, August 5, 2026 4:11PM One week after a teenager was killed while riding an illegal e-bike, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes an announcement on making streets safer. NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- One week after a teenager was killed while riding an illegal e-bike, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the city will crack down on illegal e-bike retailers.
The mayor announced Wednesday that the city will issue cease and desist orders to online retailers that ship e-bikes and other devices that are illegal to operate in New York City.
It comes one week after 17-year-old Gabriel Nataco was killed in a crash while riding a Deepower motorcycle that his family had purchased on Amazon.
The company no longer ships the bike to New York City.
The announcement also comes one day after New York City Council members announced proposed legislation to make city streets safer.
Among the proposals under consideration are measures that would ban the sale of e-bikes capable of exceeding the city's 15 mph speed limit, require additional insurance for third-party food delivery apps, crack down on the use of unregistered mopeds and increase penalties for riders who flee crash scenes.
Council members are also considering a trade-in program that would allow riders to exchange illegal bikes for safer ones, along with stronger consumer protections, expanded enforcement and infrastructure changes designed to slow high-speed riding.
According to city data, there have been more than 500 e-bike collisions and 795 scooter collisions so far this year, an increase of more than 28% compared to the same period last year.
"Every New Yorker deserves to move around our city freely and safely, regardless of how they get around," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement. "But too many people have been seriously injured or killed in crashes involving illegal, high-speed e-bikes, e-motos, and e-scooters."
The mayor said his administration remains focused on removing illegal bikes from city streets but will reserve judgment on the City Council's legislative package until he has had an opportunity to review it.
"Having spoken to the mother of the young man who was killed while riding on an illegal e-bike, my heart just breaks for her and for all of the families who've had their children stolen from them as a result of this," Mamdani said. "That bike is one that should never have been on our streets. It is critically important that safety is something that each and every New Yorker has, no matter what mode of transportation they use."
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