A Manhattan lawmaker is set to introduce legislation this week aimed specifically at reining in the kinds of illegal electric motorcycles (e-motos) that a 1eenager was riding when he got into a fatal crash with an SUV driver late last month.

City Council Member Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan), who chairs the body’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, confirmed to amNewYork that he will introduce three bills on Thursday as part of a larger package that City Council Speaker Julie Menin began rolling out last week. The collection of 17 bills aim to take a wide-ranging approach to combating deadly crashes involving electric micromobility devices, following 17-year-old Gabriel Nacato’s July 29 death after crashing into an SUV on his illegal e-moto.

Menin also scheduled a hearing on the legislation and the city’s enforcement of its already existing electric micromobility laws for Sept. 30.

But unlike the bills introduced by other members, Abreu’s are designed to get electric micromobility devices that can exceed the legal top-speed and power limits for e-bikes — yet are marketed by online retailers as e-bikes anyway — off city streets. The legislation would create a city-run trade-in program, impose a $1,000 fine on retailers who sell mopeds without specifying that they must be registered with the state, and require the NYPD to use devices that can determine whether the vehicles are illegal.

The bills were first reported by the news site Hell Gate.

Abreu, in a statement, said he wants to crack down on illegal devices without endangering the livelihoods of workers who rely on e-bikes, e-scooters, and mopeds — many of whom are immigrant deliveristas.

“We can get dangerous and illegal e-devices off our streets without penalizing riders who just need a good way to get around,” Abreu said. “That’s the balance the legislative package strikes.”

Abreu added that he wants to pair “this legislation with expanded bike lane infrastructure will bring us closer to our goal of making our streets as safe as possible for both pedestrians and cyclists.” 

What the e-moto package aims to do to curb illegal motorcycles in NYC

One measure in the package requires the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) to set up a program allowing the owners of illegal or Class 3 e-bikes — those that can reach a 25 miles per hour top speed with a throttle — to trade them into the city, according to a draft of the bill. In exchange, DCWP would give those e-bike owners one of two kinds of devices with a 20 mph top speed, either a Class 1 (pedal-assisted) or Class 2 (throttle-assisted) e-bike, for free or at a discount.

Alternatively, the agency would provide them with a voucher to buy a legal e-bike from a retailer.

“This bill would help folks trade in those faster, more dangerous devices for safer ones,” Abreu said.

Another bill in the package would bar retailers from advertising for sale mopeds that are eligible to be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles as e-bikes or e-scooters, a draft of the bill says. Retailers selling devices that must be registered with the DMV would have to advertise them as such.

If enacted, retailers who continue to flout the law would face a $1,000 initial fine for their first infraction, then $2,000 penalties for their second.

The last bill would mandate that the NYPD and city Department of Transportation (DOT) test the use of technology known as dynamometers, which can determine an electric micromobility device’s power and speed, during certain enforcement actions. They would use the dynamometers with the goal of determining which devices on the road are illegal, the latter of which includes any found to have a motor with power exceeding 750 watts and a top speed over 25 mph.

Under the bill, the NYPD would seize the illegal devices.

“Once riders have had a chance to use the rebate program and we’ve halted the sale of illegal e-bikes, then the dynamometers can help us identify and remove illegal devices that are still on the streets,” Abreu said.

The bill requires the NYPD and DOT to focus on 10 locations they determine to have the highest micromobility traffic or concentration of crahses involving the devices.

An NYPD spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the legislation.

When asked about the bills, DOT spokesperson Vincent Barone pointed to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s action last week, in which the city sent cease-and-desist letters to over 40 online retailers who are allegedly selling illegal electronic micromobility devices.

“We are reviewing the Council’s proposals, and we look forward to working with our partners at the state and local level on additional policies to get the fastest, most dangerous electric devices off our streets,” he said.

Ben Furnas, executive director of the safe streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, signaled support for one of Abreu’s, while noting that his group is still awaiting more details on all of the proposed legislation.

“We’re hopeful that the City Council is moving forward with a balanced package that includes a robust buy-back program and encourages a phase out for the fastest and most dangerous devices on our streets while also appropriately focusing on bad-faith retailers,” Furnas said. “We’re still awaiting details and look forward to reviewing the final legislation while we continue to fight for safe streets  for all.”