The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!
The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!

Get my Daily BS twice-a-day news stack directly to your email.


Amazon answers Mamdani’s cease-and-desist letter

by

 

DAILY BS BULLETIN:

  • Amazon says it is reviewing products identified in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s crackdown on illegal high-speed e-bikes and scooters.
  • Dozens of retailers face $2,000 fines per unlawful sale after August 18.
  • Critics say the plan targets online listings while leaving dangerous devices already operating on city streets.

Amazon says it is reviewing allegedly illegal e-bikes and scooters sold through its marketplace after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened dozens of major retailers with fines beginning August 18.

The administration sent cease-and-desist notices to Amazon, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Temu and other online sellers, ordering them to stop shipping noncompliant motorized devices to city residents and businesses.

Amazon responded:

Safety is a top priority and we require e-bikes sold in our store to meet applicable safety standards and Amazon policies.

The company said it was “looking into the products in question” and expressed willingness to work with City Hall and the City Council. Target had not publicly responded by Friday afternoon.

The targeted products reportedly include stand-up scooters weighing more than 100 pounds, devices exceeding city speed limits, high-powered e-bikes and mopeds lacking proper vehicle identification numbers.

Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said some sellers were playing word games with products that function more like motorcycles:

Let’s be clear, these are motorcycles being marketed to New Yorkers as bicycles.

Mamdani warned retailers that New Yorkers reasonably expect products marketed for local use to be legal:

We cannot and will not accept these dangerous vehicles on our city streets.

The crackdown followed the death of 17-year-old Gabriel Nacato, who collided with an SUV near City Hall while riding an e-bike capable of exceeding 30 mph. Police said Nacato moved from the bike lane into the vehicle lane before striking the SUV. The driver remained at the scene and was not charged. Mamdani said the teenager was traveling to meet a counselor who was helping him apply for summer jobs.

The vehicle he was riding is capable of reaching more than 30 miles per hour, a speed that should never be reached in our bike lanes.

City Hall’s action addresses sales, but critics argue it does little about dangerous devices already roaming streets and sidewalks. Mamdani has declined to endorse a registration requirement and previously ended criminal summonses for low-level traffic violations by cyclists and e-bike riders, shifting those cases to civil enforcement.

Safety advocates described the online-sales crackdown as an “impotent response” unless it is paired with meaningful street enforcement.

There is also precedent for Amazon cooperating. The company moved earlier this year to remove noncompliant high-speed e-bikes from its California marketplace after officials raised concerns about vehicles marketed as bicycles that could exceed 40 mph.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

today’s hot news