THOUSANDS OF NEW YORKERS BEHIND RAJKUMAR’S PLAN
RALLIES IN MANHATTAN AND ALBANY TO DEMAND PASSAGE OF HER BILL TO BRING CALM TO OUR STREETS
On Wednesday, March 12, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar will host rallies in New York City and Albany where grassroots advocates will join forces for a day of action for her bill Priscilla’s Law (A339A) requiring license plates for e-bikes. The campaign commences at 8:00am at 633 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. Activists will then immediately converge on Albany for a second rally at 12:00pm at the Million Dollar Staircase the same day. Joining Assemblywoman Rajkumar will be members of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, a grassroots coalition of pedestrians and cyclists united in their quest to tame reckless e-bikes.
A groundswell of unstoppable momentum is emerging to pass Rajkumar’s bill and add license plates to e-bikes, which for the first time will provide true accountability and enforcement of traffic laws. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo prominently featured e-bike license plates in his mayoral campaign kickoff, making it a cornerstone of his policy platform. Mayor Eric Adams endorsed the policy. A City Council bill has gained traction, but only through Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s bill can New York put the full force of the State DMV behind the license plate solution.
Street safety champions heaped praise on the Assemblywoman’s bill.
City Councilman Robert Holden, sponsor of the Council bill, said, “All politicians need to wake up and pass Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s bill A339 enacting Priscilla’s Law to hold reckless e-bikes accountable. We need the State DMV to issue license plates for e-bikes, which can only happen with the Assemblywoman’s bill. When e-bike users know that there are consequences for their actions, they will think twice before ignoring any and all traffic laws, leaving a trail of injured and maimed pedestrians in their wake. We must pass Priscilla’s Law immediately: every day we wait is more innocent people hit or killed and more blood on Albany’s hands. Thank you to Assemblywoman Rajkumar, a rare leader in Albany who listens to New Yorkers and takes action when we demand an end to the e-bike chaos.”
Assemblywoman Rajkumar said, “I am here to bring safety and hope to millions of New Yorkers living in constant fear of e-bikes. My common sense bill Priscilla’s Law is a declaration that enough is enough: New Yorkers want and deserve law and order on our streets. When we pass my game-changing bill, and every e-bike bears a license plate, we will usher in a new era free of e-bikes blasting through red lights, going opposite traffic, riding on the sidewalk, and narrowly avoiding pedestrians and cyclists at every turn. With the unwavering support of my grassroots partners in EVSA, this is the year we pass Priscilla’s Law (A339) and slam the brakes on reckless e-bikes. It is time to reclaim our streets and ensure a safer future for everyone!”
Assemblywoman Rajkumar authored Priscilla’s Law in response to the ubiquitous pleas from New Yorkers to stop reckless e-bikes, which travel at motor vehicles speeds while flouting traffic laws, almost grazing pedestrians and other cyclists. People lay bare their constant fear of being hit amidst nonstop near-misses. E-bikes are responsible for over 7,000 injuries per year, with seemingly every New Yorker having a story of a close call. Untraceable e-vehicles have also become the getaway vehicle of choice for people committing crimes. The Assemblywoman named the bill in honor of Priscilla Loke, an educator at Chinatown Head Start who was fatally struck by an e-bike rider running a red light.
Laser-focused on ending the crisis, Assemblywoman Rajkumar energized the EVSA coalition to tackle the issue full force. She helped arrange an audience for them with Mayor Adams, and rallied with EVSA at City Hall, the Upper West Side, and the Capitol in Albany. Every time, rapturous crowds unite in unyielding enthusiasm for Priscilla’s Law.
At the dual rallies Wednesday, EVSA members will demand Albany pass Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s bill in the annual budget. Some speakers will share their harrowing stories of e-bike collisions that left them disabled or killed their loved ones; others, their living in fear of becoming the next victim. All will stand united in their unwavering commitment to seeing the bill cross the finish line and become law.
In passing Rajkumar’s bill, New York would join places around the world that require e-bike license plates or serial numbers, including Germany and many cities in China. The data prove that e-bike license plates translate to safety. A study in Ningbo, China, which is larger than New York City, found that e-bikes with license plates were almost three times less likely to be in an accident than unregistered ones, and a majority of unregistered e-bikes experienced accidents.
The bill is part of Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s comprehensive package of e-bike safety bills. She authored A350 to require insurance and inspection of e-bikes, including inspection of batteries to root out reconditioned aftermarket batteries that caused 277 fires last year. Rajkumar also introduced A3417 to create similar requirements for other electric and gas-powered vehicles.
The Assemblywoman’s newest bill in her arsenal, the Safe Delivery Act (A3932), prohibits delivery app algorithms from rewarding reckless e-bike use. Rajkumar’s bill remedies the biggest driver of e-bike recklessness: delivery workers under intense pressure to deliver faster at all costs. The bill came in response to a CUNY study concluding delivery app algorithms effectively reward e-bike recklessness, incentivizing speed and more deliveries per shift without regard for safety. Under the Safe Delivery Act, app companies must allow a delivery window of at least one hour more than the time projected to complete the delivery while traveling at 15 mph and observing all traffic laws.
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