East Village e-bike fight: NYPD removes 11 delivery bikes at E. 11th St. and First Ave. in an on-and-off crackdown

A long-running East Village fight over a curbside hub for delivery workers' e-bikes has turned into police enforcement. An NYPD spokesperson said officers confiscated 11 e-bikes parked along East 11th Street and First Avenue last week, because they were parked illegally or over concern about their lithium-ion batteries, Gothamist reported Thursday. The department said it gave the owners three weeks' warning and that they can retrieve their bikes.

An on-and-off crackdown

The same week, a planned cleanup fell apart. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, officers from the 9th Precinct arrived around 9 a.m., looked over the bikes for roughly 45 minutes and left without taking any, according to amNY and Streetsblog. amNY reported that an officer was heard on the phone saying two people with press passes were there. The NYPD told amNY the enforcement was first set for Oct. 21, then pushed back a week to give advocates time to help workers move the bikes.

Delivery workers have parked at the corner since February 2024 and kept doing so after an earlier seizure under the Adams administration, amNY reported. Workers said many had trouble reclaiming bikes back then because they bought them used, with cash, and couldn't prove ownership at the precinct. The NYPD told amNY it is looking at ways to make reclaiming bikes easier.

What each side wants

• Neighbors and businesses: The newly formed East Village Beautification Project says hundreds of bikes at times block sidewalks, curbs and storefronts. Its leader, Christine Renzi, wants consistent enforcement and bike parking spread across several nearby blocks, the way Citi Bike docks are, Gothamist reported.
• Workers and advocates: Cafewal, a community kitchen nearby, says it runs weekly cleanups and that the riders, many of them immigrants, need a formal place to park. Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, warned that riders could lose their livelihood and told amNY and Streetsblog the police were out of step with the mayor's stated support for immigrant workers.
• The rules: The 9th Precinct's commanding officer said bikes not on a rack are a violation and an NYPD lawyer said bikes are personal property that can't be stored on the street, Streetsblog reported. The outlet noted that the city's traffic rules don't prohibit parking a bike at an unmetered curb.

What's next

None of the reports cited a city plan for dedicated delivery-worker parking or charging at the corner. Advocates quoted by Streetsblog want the Mamdani administration to build infrastructure at the hub; the beautification group says it will keep pressing the city, elected officials and the community board. We'll update this story if the city announces a plan or more removals.