The Queens District Attorney’s Office is actively collaborating with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to get illegal two-wheeled vehicles off the streets, which are largely associated with a growing wave of crime that has swept across all four boroughs.
This week alone, 53 scooters were seized in the Astoria and Jamaica neighborhoods, most of them unregistered and parked on sidewalks. The operation also resulted in two arrests, one for possession of a forged document and another for driving with a suspended license.
As reported by the county prosecutor’s office in a bulletin: so far in 2024 they have collaborated with the police to seize 650 illegal two-wheeled vehicles.
According to NYPD sources, the use of these mopeds, which are the means of escape from the seven most frequent crimes, such as robberies, assaults and thefts, has increased by more than 400% since 2022.
Mopeds and similar means of transport allow criminals to commit crimes quickly, often physically assaulting the victim in the process, without ever getting off the vehicle or simply getting off temporarily while a second person remains seated.
In both cases, mopeds facilitate a quick escape.
Chain theft
For example, the NYPD made arrests earlier this summer following a citywide pattern of crime in which two people used a motor vehicle to commit and quickly flee 112 separate chain-snatching incidents.
Mopeds have also been increasingly used in attempts to evade police because these two-wheeled vehicles can travel on sidewalks and through narrow alleys that police cars cannot navigate.
In response, the New York Police Department has strategically deployed public safety teams to the places and times where many of these crimes are most likely to occur.
Investigators are also working to uncover any criminal networks that may be facilitating the passage of criminals.
Seizures like never before
In 2023, 18,430 unregistered motor vehicles were seized in the Big Apple, the highest number in the city’s history, representing a 128% increase over 2022.
This year, the NYPD has already seized more than 13,000 two-wheeled vehicles, bringing the total number to nearly 42,000 since Eric Adams’ administration took office. The 42,000 figure represents the largest number of such seizures in a 30-month span in New York City history.
Police sources say that this summer they have intensified their confiscation of these vehicles, a process that has been fine-tuned with complaints from New Yorkers.
“Whoever is committing robberies in our city should know that sooner or later we will capture them,” said a source from the Police.