By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-07 14:22:39 | Updated at 2024-12-23 11:03:50
2 weeks ago
Cops confiscated 568 pedicabs for a host of infractions through Nov. 25, compared to 84 seized during the same period last year.
Renee Nowytarger
Illegal-pedicab seizures in Manhattan have soared nearly 600% so far this year, with many confiscated during an NYPD crackdown that followed The Post’s Page 1 exposé of the Wild West industry.
Cops confiscated 568 pedicabs for a host of infractions — including forged permits or driving without a license — through Nov. 25, an astonishing 576% surge from the 84 bikes taken off the street during the same period last year.
And over 200 seizures came in the wake of The Post’s Aug. 18 report on the brazen behavior plaguing the industry, including drivers sexually assaulting customers and harassing bystanders, slashing competitors’ tires, and bilking unsuspecting tourists with rates that can exceed $1,000 a ride.
“We’ve been begging for [an NYPD crackdown] for years now. We’ve had an issue with a lot of drivers coming in, doing illegal stuff,” said Kenneth Winter, a 21-year pedicab driver and tour guide in Central Park.
“We’ve tried to reason with all these guys, but they always tell us to mind our own business — or have more colorful language.”
On Aug. 28 the NYPD seized 52 pedicabs in an operation spanning Midtown and Central Park and arrested four scofflaw drivers for having forged registration stickers.
Two weeks later, the NYPD launched “Operation Front Door,” targeting quality-of-life issues blighting Times Square, including out-of-control pedicabbies.
That week, at least 42 bikes were seized. Another 125 pedicabs at minimum were confiscated by police in November, according to reports and an analysis of NYPD social media posts.
“We are cleaning up these streets not only for our visitors from around the world, but for our community!” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry crowed on Nov. 30, after cops confiscated seven unlicensed pedicabs near the Empire State Building and Central Park.
The sky-high seizure rate has been coupled with an 83% hike in criminal summonses issued to hell-on-wheels hacks so far this year, up to 3,467 from 1,892 during the same period last year.
Industry sources previously told The Post more than half of the three-wheeled hacks are driving around with bogus paperwork.
Pedicabs are returned if ownership is proved, the NYPD said.
The Post this week observed an impound lot in Midtown filled at least 50 pedicabs.
An NYPD spokesperson said the police beefed up their efforts to address pedicabs following a flurry of quality-of-life complaints a year ago from community members and businesses, “leading to increased enforcement and confiscation” this year.
Additional reporting by J.C. Rice
