The NYPD has removed dozens of delivery bikes parked outside the Roosevelt Hotel as part of an increased crackdown on unregistered and illegal mopeds and e-bikes across the city, according to information obtained by the New York Post.
A landmark Midtown hotel near Grand Central Terminal was converted into a migrant shelter last year, but it also became a notorious hotspot for illegal bikes last fall.
In recent months, unsightly and cluttered parked bicycles have frequently obstructed pedestrians along the block of East 46th Street between Madison and Vanderbilt Avenues.
An NYPD spokesman said by some estimates there were as many as 75 bikes parked there at any one time, mostly used for food delivery, but that they were either not registered with the city or were parked illegally.
“This location has undergone numerous operations over the years to remove illegal, unregistered or improperly stored mopeds, bikes and other vehicles,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs David K. Wilson said in a statement.
DCPI did not say when the bikes in front of the hotel were removed, but a local business said it was within the last few weeks.
The iconic Roosevelt Hotel has become a symbol of the city’s struggle to cope with a large influx of immigrants working as delivery drivers.
The city is stepping up its crackdown on safety issues related to mopeds, which caused 97 fires last year. The issue came up during a City Council hearing Friday on seven bills to regulate food app delivery companies.
Some of the proposed bills would require app companies like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats to register mopeds and make them liable if their employees are involved in accidents.
Separately, the NYPD is increasingly paying attention to how bikes are being used to commit crimes.
Earlier this month, the New York Police Department 39 mopeds arrested, 40 summonses issued in Midtown The Washington Post reported that there has been an increase in snatch thefts, with motorized scooters and mopeds being used as a getaway vehicle.
Scooters, motorcycles or mopeds have been used as a getaway vehicle in 790 of the seven most serious crimes so far this year, up from just 156 in the same period in 2022, according to NYPD statistics.
Local businesses near and adjacent to the Roosevelt Hotel have complained that business has suffered since the hotel was converted into a shelter.
The Grand Central Partnership, which represents businesses in the surrounding area, was unaware that the NYPD was searching the hotel for bikes, Fred Cerullo, president of the business improvement district, told The Post.
“We support the Mayor and the NYPD in all their efforts. [unregistered motorized bikes] “The efforts to remove pedestrians from roads and sidewalks have alleviated some of the disruption plaguing pedestrians in Midtown East,” Cerra said.
