Cohen bill gets tough on ATVs

A bill coming up for a vote in the City Council would allow police to confiscate all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes from riders in the city, where those types of recreational outdoor vehicles are prohibited. 

Councilman Andrew Cohen, who sponsored the bill, said “the genesis was the destruction of park property in Van Cortlandt Park and other portions of the park late at night.”

Recreational all-terrain vehicles and bikes “are dangerous to use in the park and certainly dangerous in the street,” he said.

According to Mr. Cohen, there were nine ATV-related deaths in 2014, when he first proposed the bill, two of them in Riverdale.  

In one of the cases, Anthony Perez, 33, ran into an SUV near W. 259th Street and Broadway while he was trying to pass it in May, 2014. In October of the same year, Paul Rodriguez, 35, collided with another ATV rider near W. 233rd Street and Bailey Avenue.

According to Deputy Inspector Terence O’Toole from the 50th precinct, illegal ATV ridership has posed an issue for cops for some time.

“Illegally operated ATVs and motorcycles operated on NYC streets should be subject to some type of civil enforcement in addition to any penalties imposed by vehicle and traffic rules and the penal law,” he said in emailed comments. “ATV riding is a fun outdoor pastime, but not carelessly and recklessly on crowded urban streets and parks such as here in NYC. Also, many NYC residents do not enjoy the noise and danger imposed on them by illegal ATVs.”

Mr. Cohen said the law has a strong majority support in the City Council, and he expects it to pass soon.

“I’m appreciative the NYPD is taking the issue seriously and I am just trying to give them a tool to fight this more effectively,” he said. “The NYPD had some very minor suggestions and the bill should be ready for a vote shortly.”