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For Immediate Release: June 15th, 2004 Contact: Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w) 212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151 ***PRESS RELEASE*** Albany, NY – With the clock ticking in
Albany and very little getting accomplished, State Senator Liz Krueger
(D-Manhattan) today offered S. 6385, a bill to
strengthen New York City bicycle law as a Motion to Amend on S. 6504
(Larkin), a bill to require skateboarders to wear safety helmets. A Motion to Amend is an opportunity for a
Senator to propose changes, additions or substitutions to an existing bill. In this case, Senator Krueger proposed her own legislation as an amendment to a
similar bill that was being debated in the Senate Chamber. Unfortunately, the motion failed.
Presently, the New York City Administrative Code prohibits the operation of bicycles on sidewalks due to the danger that bicycles pose to pedestrians in the event of a collision. “Sidewalks were created for use by pedestrians and not for speeding delivery bicycles attempting to shave minutes from their delivery time at a heightened risk for community residents on foot,” stated Senator Krueger. “This problem has not only been exacerbated by the difficulty experienced in enforcing the current statutory provisions which prohibit this activity, but also because of the lack of means to identify the culprit businesses. The bill that I have proposed will work to solve these problems.”
Under the current law, liability is assigned to the business providing the delivery service, employed delivery cyclists must wear upper body apparel with the businesses name and phone number, and they are required to carry photo identification cards with name, home address, as well as the businesses name, address and phone number. “The problem with the current law is that businesses have gotten around the regulations by hiring delivery bicyclists as independent contractors, rather than as employees,” remarked Senator Krueger.
Senator Krueger’s proposed legislation, S. 6385, would strengthen and facilitate increased enforcement of Section 10-157 of the NYC Administrative Code by expanding the code to include all commercial cyclists who provide a delivery service for a business, not limiting it to those who are actually employed by the establishment. The bill would also move the proceedings for any violation of the code from the criminal court to the environmental control board. Furthermore, the legislation would create a rebuttable presumption that the business utilizing or arranging for the services of the commercial bicycle operator had knowledge that the bicyclist was in violation of the law. This rebuttable presumption will make the businesses subject to a fine of $100 to $250 dollars.
“By making the businesses liable for the actions of the cyclists who deliver their product, it will encourage them to only associate with commercial cyclists who adhere to the requirements currently in place in the Administrative Code,” stated Senator Krueger. “By clarifying that delivery cyclists can be affiliated with a business and not necessarily employed by the business, it will promote a greater enforcement mechanism. By moving violations from criminal court to the environmental control board, it will cease the present system in which summonses and penalties are not seen through to their final conclusion.”
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