Deliveristas Rally Against NYPD Bike Criminalization

On Wednesday, members of Los Deliveristas Unidos rallied with supporters including Council Members at City Hall to demand the NYPD stop its escalation of cycling violations from traffic tickets to criminal summonses that require presence in court, a policy that started on April 28, as Streetsblog reported earlier this month.

The new policy represents unequal enforcement, as E-bike riders, the majority of whom are immigrant workers, will have to leave work for hours to go to court in person, while vehicle drivers will still be able to pay their non-criminal summonses online in seconds. Immigration lawyers warnthat criminalizing e-bike traffic violations could turn bike lanes into a deportation pipeline, making trouble for the workers who are going through the subjective asylum seeker process.

“When the city shut down, we stepped up. We risked everything to keep New Yorkers fed—and we did it with pride,” said Gustavo Ajche, leader of Los Deliveristas Unidos and co-founder of Worker’s Justice Project. “They’re not going after the ones profiting off our backs—they’re coming after Deliveristas and the cyclist community. This isn’t about safety. It’s about criminalizing our work and the very bikes we rely on to earn a living, to move safely, and to survive. … This city is ours, too. And we’re not going anywhere.” Read more from Streetsblog and The New York Times, and follow the Worker's Justice Projectfor updates.