A new policy now allows the NYPD to issue criminal summonses instead of civil B-summonses for certain traffic violations, like running a red light, driving the wrong way down the street, or ignoring a stop sign.
The NYPD says that its new crackdown on e-bike riders, which went into effect on April 28, stems from the public wanting improved safety for pedestrians and drivers. But delivery workers argue the policy unfairly criminalizes New York City’s more than 65,000 app delivery workers — most of whom are immigrants and most of whom rely on e-bikes for their jobs.
Traffic violations led to tickets and fines in the past but rarely would it lead to a criminal summons. A criminal summons requires individuals to show up to criminal court to address the summons. A failure to appear can result in a bench warrant being issued and possible jail time, which could impact immigrants who have regular check-ins with ICE, like those who have pending asylum claims or those who have posted a bond and are fighting a deportation.
Antonio “Toño” Solís, an organizer with Los Deliveristas Unidos, a group that advocates for New York’s app-based delivery workers, says that in the past two weeks, he has heard from at least 20 food delivery workers who have received criminal summonses from the NYPD for traffic violations.
Since the regulation went into effect, the NYPD has written 916 criminal summonses for e-bikes in two weeks, showing an increase of more than 4,000% as compared to the 553 of criminal summons written to e-bike cyclists in the entirety of 2024 , according to reporting by StreetsBlog, who also first reported on the new enforcement.
Also Read: An E-Bike Registry Won’t Fix New York’s Streets, Delivery Workers Say
“[The police] have the green light to issue criminal tickets now,” Solís said in Spanish, “so it has increased a lot more compared to before.” He added that such summonses were rare in the past and that immigrant workers he’s spoken to are deeply concerned as immigration has taken center stage at the national level. He said some of the group’s members have been worried about showing up to court out of fear of being detained.
With the NYPD’s new enforcement, Sergio Solano, a leader with the group El Diario de los Delivery Boys en la Gran Manzana, a group of delivery workers who help retrieve stolen e-bikes, says the new policy change escalates their fight against unfair and unwarranted traffic fines, which are often $190, if not more. “The tickets cost too much,” Solano said in Spanish, adding that the NYPD needs to be conscious that delivery workers cannot afford paying those fines.
“They forget that we are part of the essential workers and, honestly, we don’t agree with this new policy,” Solano said.
Launched during the pandemic, El Diario de los Delivery Boys en la Gran Manzana now has more than 60,000 followers on Facebook and a WhatsApp channel to alert delivery workers of bike robberies in real time. They also band together to help retrieve them, as Documented has reported in the past.
Solano warned that a criminal record could affect immigration proceedings for some of the workers, the majority of whom are immigrants.
Sarah Vendzules, director of the Immigrant Justice Team at The Legal Aid Society, agreed. She said that a criminal record could impact individuals who are trying to get bonds in immigration court. “They have to show that they are not a flight risk or a danger to the community,” she said, explaining that a negative criminal contact could be detrimental and used against them in court. “I would not necessarily think it means that someone is a danger if they are delivering food.”
Immigrants who have filed an Application for Cancellation of Removal are also in jeopardy, said Vendzules. This form of relief, which seeks to halt a deportation, is difficult to obtain and requires applicants to demonstrate that they meet the standards of good moral character — a concept that is often subject to the discretion of immigration officers.
Also Read: NYC Delivery Riders: Trade In Your Old E-Bike for a Brand-New One for Free!
Vendzules said pending asylum applications, which require constant check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), could also be impacted. “They’re checking in, they’re going to court, but it’s a long process,” she said. “And during that time, they often have these really high stakes ICE check-ins where they bring you into a small room and they ask you questions. And so, anything negative that they know about you, could give them an excuse to detain you.”
Vendzules recommended that those in immigration proceedings consult with an immigration attorney before pleading guilty during a hearing at criminal court.
Both Solís and Solano emphasized that traffic laws must be followed, a message they have relayed to their members, but admit the delivery work industry is very demanding. Short pick-up times, narrow delivery windows, and long distances all put the delivery workers in a race against time, they said. “If we are 15 minutes late, or 20 minutes late, we get a complaint. And it impacts our rating,” Solano said.
In the meantime, both groups have educated their members about this new enforcement so that the delivery workers do not miss a court summons.
A spokesperson for the NYPD told Documented the change was necessary because there is no license requirement for e-bikes, as compared to car operators who could get their driver’s license suspended if they do not appear in court or respond to their summons.
“Since e-bikes do not require a license, drivers of e-bikes can simply ignore their traffic summons with no repercussions whatsoever, making any enforcement futile,” the spokesperson said, noting that criminal summons have always been given to e-bike operators for reckless driving. The NYPD did not provide data on how many B-summonses went unpaid or unaddressed in court for.
“[The police] have the record of people already so they can see who doesn’t pay their fines or who doesn’t go to court. Why don’t they give criminal summons to them instead of everyone?” said Solano.
At an April 10 press conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said that data was used to guide the new enforcement of e-bikes. It is unclear if she was referring to data around violations or on complaints. When Documented asked the NYPD for the data, the spokesperson said that “complaints about this type of behavior do not typically come in from 311 and 911.” Instead, they said New Yorkers voiced their fears and concerns in venues like townhalls and other community events. As a result, the NYPD’s Transportation Bureau has established 14 high-priority corridors throughout the city where officers will focus their enforcement during peak morning and evening hours.
The NYPD did not specify the locations of the corridors.
Still, delivery workers and advocates argue that enforcement in high-volume areas disproportionately targets immigrant workers during the busiest hours of their shifts.
“In a city where the majority of residents are people of color and a third were born outside the country, in a time of mass deportation, the mayor and police commissioner are working for President Trump’s agenda of extralegal harassment, detention, and deportation,” Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit that advocates for safer streets and sustainable transportation in New York City, said in a statement.
‘We are workers, not criminals’
Solís said the NYPD also needs to do their part in notifying the new change to delivery workers. “The police are giving people criminal summonses and telling them that they can pay online if they do not want to show up to court” he alleged, adding that it is incorrect and that it caused confusion amongst some of the members.
This policy change also comes at a time when a bill at City Council has been pushing to register e-bikes and other motorized vehicles not registered with the DMV to be registered with the DOT. The sponsor of the bill, Council member Robert F. Holden, told Documented earlier this year that the proposal would ensure accountability from delivery workers who violate certain traffic rules or cause accidents.
But Solís said that the responsibility should not fall on the workers but on the app delivery companies. “At the end of the day, the apps pressure the worker to work a certain way,” he said. “The more pressure there is, the faster the delivery worker does his job because he is afraid of being deactivated.”
He reiterated that the new policy adds new concerns for the worker but not for the company.
