STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— In a firm stand against illegal dirt bikes and unregistered vehicles, Mayor Eric Adams, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, and NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch held a press conference on Thursday at the Department of Sanitation site near Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island.
The event marked the demolition of over 200 unregistered bikes that the police had recently confiscated.
“Today we send these illegal vehicles to their final destination: the scrap heap,” stated Mayor Adams. “When it comes to public safety, we’re crushing it and we’re going to crush these vehicles.”
During the press conference, Adams and Tisch also addressed the recent spike in incidents involving police vehicles, notably the torched cars in Bushwick.
On Wednesday, an unidentified individual set fire to 11 police vehicles. Mayor Adams noted that while 14 vehicles were involved, only 11 suffered fire damage, with three additional cars containing fire starters that failed to ignite.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in connection to these incidents, and NYPD Commissioner Tisch confirmed that an investigation is underway.
“We want to be clear. No one has a license to commit violence in our city, especially against law enforcement. This damage is unacceptable, and we will find the person who is involved,” said Adams, expressing the administration’s commitment to safeguarding public safety.
Adams detailed how feedback from community meetings and town halls prompted a more aggressive approach to removing illegal vehicles from the streets.
“That is exactly what we’re doing on many levels, from lowering speed limits to upping our enforcement, but also when we have to confiscate those dangerous vehicles that are on the street,” he remarked. “Public safety is not only about statistics; it’s about how people are feeling.”
He highlighted that illegal mopeds, ghost cars, and ghost plates have become tools in the execution of various crimes, contributing to a spate of jewelry snatches, phone thefts, and robberies, as well as being used as getaway vehicles in shootings.
According to the mayor, the NYPD has successfully removed over 62,000 illegal scooters, motorbikes, and ATVs, as well as more than 38,000 ghost cars since the start of his administration.
Statistics show an 86% decrease in grand larceny and a 68% decrease in moped-related robberies across the city over the past year.
Moreover, there has been a significant 57% decrease in overall crime reported to police involving mopeds since the beginning of 2024, indicating a positive trend in crime reduction in the city.
Both Adams and Tisch highlighted that citywide murders and shooting incidents are at historic lows.
The mayor expressed optimism about continuing this trend, noting that the city is on track to achieve a sixth consecutive quarter of declining crime.
In paraphrasing a quote by President Truman, Adams concluded, “in the words President Truman once said, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘the bike stops here’.”
Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon supported this initiative, declaring, “The seizure of over 100,000 of these illegal and untraceable vehicles to date is a tremendous achievement that sends a powerful message that ‘ghost vehicles’ will not be tolerated on our streets.”
He emphasized that this initiative was crucial for enhancing safety on Staten Island’s streets, protecting law-abiding drivers, and ensuring that pedestrian safety is prioritized.
“Today’s public destruction of these vehicles is more than symbolic – it’s a clear and direct warning to those who flout the law. Staten Island residents, as do all New Yorkers, deserve streets free of lawless drivers and untraceable vehicles, and this initiative brings us closer to that goal,” McMahon added.
As per New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles regulations, it is illegal to register and operate off-road vehicles like dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets.
Commissioner Tisch conveyed a lighthearted sentiment during the event, saying, “As a little girl, I always dreamed of going to a moped crush event and here I am.”
However, she went on to remind attendees, “This morning is not just about crushing mopeds. It is about crushing the criminal activity and quality of life issues that come with them.”
Tisch elaborated on the untraceable, unlicensed nature of these motorbikes and how they pose risks to both pedestrians and other drivers.
She asserted that their enforcement efforts across the boroughs include coordinated strategies and intensive investigations to intercept these illegal vehicles before they can be employed in criminal activities.
“We’ve also seen staged checkpoints, launched ghost car sweeps, and worked closely with DSNY, the sheriff’s office, the MTA, state police, and others to execute this mission at both city and state levels,” Tisch noted.
She called for legislative changes to enable more rigorous enforcement, specifically mentioning the need to amend the administrative code to classify ATV possession in New York City as a misdemeanor.
“Though ATVs cannot be legally operated on New York City roadways, they can be legally possessed, making enforcement of the law very challenging,” Tisch explained.
Borough President Vito Fossella echoed her calls for additional legal frameworks that would empower the NYPD further.
“Whether it’s legislative, locally in the City Council or the state Legislature, we need to get on the same page and allow NYPD to do its job,” Fossella stated. “Things like this could happen more often.”
Following Fossella’s remarks, the three officials utilized construction machinery to crush the hundreds of confiscated motorized scooters.
Large bulldozers took to the row of seized vehicles, resulting in one end of the row igniting. Sanitation workers were called to extinguish the flames promptly.
image source from：https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/2025/06/illegal-dirt-bikes-in-nyc-200-seized-vehicles-crushed-in-staten-island-demolition.html
