Glen Cove police are preparing to crack down on the growing use of illegal e-bikes in the city, citing daily complaints, property damage and a recent serious crash involving a teenager as signs that enforcement is necessary.
Police Chief William Whitton said the department will undergo training in September to better understand which e-bikes are legal under state law, and which are not. The effort will be followed by what Whitton called a “more aggressive enforcement approach” targeting unregistered and unsafe vehicles.
“Everybody will be on the same page as to what is legal and what is illegal,” he said. “Our biggest concern is the threat to the community. An e-bike comes flying into the middle of the road, and then you have an injury to the rider and trauma to the driver who hit them.”
Deputy Chief Chris Ortiz pointed to a recent accident at Forest and Bryce avenues, in which a 13-year-old boy on an e-bike collided with a minivan. “The kid was pretty badly injured. He shattered some teeth and had facial injuries,” Ortiz said, adding that the rider was not a Glen Cove resident. “We do see a lot of kids from neighboring communities coming into town and riding.”
The most problematic machines, officers say, are high-power-battery bikes that can reach 40 to 50 miles per hour. With no pedals, mirrors or turn signals, they are often mistaken for bicycles, but police emphasize that they are categorized as electric motorcycles, and illegal to use on public roadways.
“They don’t make any noise,” Whitton said. “At least with a motorcycle, you can hear it coming. With these, all of a sudden they’re just there, because they’re that fast.”
Beyond traffic hazards, police have responded to reports of property damage, including a recent call from the Nassau County Country Club in Glen Cove, reporting e-bike riders tearing across the greens. “They do serious damage,” Whitton said.
He explained that police would not chase riders who speed away, fearing crashes that could result in injuries to both riders and officers. Instead, police plan to use surveillance and impoundments.
“We want to do it in a different way, be a little more tactical,” Whitton said, adding that undercover police will track down riders. Their bikes will be impounded, and subsequently released only to parents, who must pay an administrative fee to the city as well as towing costs, a financial penalty police hope will serve as a deterrent.
Sgt. Frank DeLuca said that many parents may not realize what they are buying for their children. “There’s confusion as to what is legal and not legal,” he said. “Any electric motorcycle on the roadway is required to be registered and insured. If it’s not, and most of these are not, we’re going to impound them.”
DeLuca noted that the department fields at least one call per day about youths riding in groups, weaving through traffic or performing stunts. “It’s a lack of education,” he said. “Parents need to be educated before they make these purchases, and kids need to be educated on how to ride properly and safely.”
To that end, city police will receive training from Daniel Flanzig, a Sea Cliff attorney and the president of the New York Bicycling Coalition. Flanzig, who represents cyclists in personal injury cases, has conducted similar training across Long Island.
“No one under the age of 16 is legally allowed to ride an e-bike or e-scooter in New York,” Flanzig said. “They are in Nassau County subject to confiscation or forfeiture. Parents spend $2,500 on these e-bikes, and we’re going to take them.”
Flanzig explained that the rise of what he calls “micro-mobility devices” — a category that includes e-bikes, e-scooters and other small, battery-powered vehicles — has outpaced public awareness and enforcement. State legislation passed in 2020 defined classes of e-bikes, but left loopholes for devices that exceed power and speed limits. “The devices you see these kids riding are really illegal motorcycles,” he said.
Not all e-bike riders are reckless, of course, and some residents worry about a potential overreaction. Glen Cove commuter Debra Caruso has biked locally for two decades, and bought an e-bike several years ago to make long-distance rides and steep hills more manageable.
But, Caruso said, “I’m not going more than 15 miles an hour.”
She rides to her office in Sea Cliff when weather allows, and says she understands the dangers of reckless young riders, but believes safe riders should not be penalized. “There has to be some way to make these two vehicles coexist — cars and e-bikes,” Caruso said.
Police say they will continue issuing public service announcements via Facebook and encourage parents to educate themselves before buying expensive motorized bikes for their children. Whitton emphasized that the department’s goal is voluntary compliance, but warned that stricter enforcement is coming.
“If we don’t get voluntary compliance, then we take it to the next level,” he said, “which is going to hit people in their wallets.”
