New York City will stop issuing criminal summonses to e-bike riders and cyclists for minor traffic violations, marking a significant policy shift under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration that officials say is intended to ease the burden on delivery workers, many of whom are immigrants.

Beginning March 27, the NYPD will no longer bring criminal charges against riders for infractions such as ignoring stop signs or riding on sidewalks. Instead, those violations will be handled through civil tickets, similar to how motorists are treated for comparable offenses, according to City Hall.

“By ending criminal summonses for low-level traffic offenses, we’re ensuring cyclists and e-bike riders — including those who deliver our food and groceries — are treated like others on the road,” Mamdani said in a statement.

Under the revised policy, enforcement will remain in place, but penalties will be handled through civil channels rather than criminal court, aligning bicycle and e-bike enforcement with standard traffic violations issued to drivers.

The move is the latest step by Mamdani aimed at shielding delivery workers, a workforce largely made up of immigrants, whom he has argued are being taken advantage of by app-based companies.

This change effectively rolls back enforcement measures put in place during the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, which had introduced criminal summonses in response to growing complaints about dangerous riding behavior on city streets and bike lanes.

Progressive members of the City Council had opposed the earlier enforcement strategy, warning that criminal penalties could lead to severe consequences, including license suspensions or even deportation for undocumented workers.

“Ticketing cyclists more aggressively than drivers never made sense. Kudos to the Mamdani administration for reversing this,” Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) posted on X after Wednesday’s sudden announcement.

“It is important that everyone follow the rules of the road – but a delivery worker missing a stop sign shouldn’t get swept up in deportation proceedings.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who has remained in her position from the prior administration and has openly disagreed with the new mayor on some issues, has consistently supported stricter enforcement against e-bike violations, even when challenged by council members concerned about its impact on immigrants.

“This is not a war on e-bikes, this is a response to very real concerns that are widely held across virtually every borough, every New Yorker in this city,” Tisch said last year during a council hearing when pressed by Mamdani’s lefty comrade Tiffany Cabán.

“A person who is more likely to be a person of color may end up in deportation proceedings, It’s not just right,” Cabán had argued.

Tisch also authored an opinion piece defending the prior enforcement approach.

“When vehicle drivers fail to respond to a traffic summons, their licenses can be suspended,” she wrote, “but e-bikes do not require any license, so their operators can simply ignore a traffic summons with virtually no meaningful repercussions.

“Now, we’re closing that loophole by issuing c-summonses —the only real option available under the law to hold reckless e-bike operators accountable.”

Notably, Tisch was not included in the official announcement detailing the rollback, which was issued by City Hall rather than the NYPD.

not all officials agree with the change. Queens Councilman Phil Wong criticized the move, saying the city should be increasing enforcement rather than reducing it.

“This is exactly the wrong direction. If there are no real consequences for reckless e-bike riders and cyclists blowing through red lights, it will only make our streets more dangerous for pedestrians and drivers alike,” he told The ny Post.

City data indicates there were 15,000 reported e-bike and bicycle crashes in 2024. After enforcement measures were introduced the following year, that number dropped to 7,100 incidents.

The easing of penalties for cyclists is part of a broader trend in the city toward reducing criminal consequences for certain offenses.