Over 100,000 illegal “ghost vehicles” seized and crushed | Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Public safety has always been the North Star of this administration. Keeping our city safe is not just about crime stats — it is also about how people are feeling. New Yorkers have strong feelings about illegal mopeds and scooters, mainly when they are driven the wrong way down streets, on sidewalks, or in the dark without lights, and when they are modified to increase noise and disturb neighborhoods.
The rise of the moped era has put many pedestrians at risk. Seniors and older adults are afraid of being run down right on their own block. Parents are so scared that their children can be injured by someone popping a wheelie. And every day, residents dread that sound as they hear it approaching.
Our administration will not tolerate crime or riders who think the rules don’t apply to them; that’s why we have been taking action on this issue since day one. As summer begins and more of these vehicles are on the road, we have ramped up enforcement throughout the city, resulting in the confiscation and impounding of more than 100,000 of these vehicles since 2022. That’s over 100,000 ghost vehicles with forged, illegal, or no license plates, including more than 62,300 two-wheeled vehicles operating without a license. These vehicles — often unregistered, uninsured, or stolen — are frequently used in crimes or implicated in accidents. They also deprive law-abiding taxpayers of millions of dollars in unpaid tolls and fees.
However, sometimes the use of these illegal vehicles poses more than a danger or a nuisance; it can also serve as a means for criminals. Criminals often use illegal mopeds and ghost vehicles to ride around and snatch cell phones, jewelry, and wallets from New Yorkers, or worse, to flee after committing a shooting, robbery, or another violent crime.
We have been clear: We are not going to let people live in fear, and we are not going to look the other way. Last week, we sent another 200 of these illegal vehicles to their final destination: the scrap heap. We crushed these vehicles, instead of reselling them, so they can never be used in a crime or to terrorize innocent New Yorkers again. Whether we’re getting illegal guns or illegal ghost cars off our streets, when it comes to public safety, we are crushing it.
“The destruction of these illegal vehicles sends an important message to everyone who drives on the streets of our city: No one is above the law. If you drive an illegal vehicle in New York, you will face the consequences. And so will your ride.”
“The destruction of these illegal vehicles sends an important message to everyone who drives on the streets of our city: No one is above the law. If you drive an illegal vehicle in New York, you will face the consequences. And so will your ride.”
The numbers show that our effort to rid our city of these vehicles is helping us deliver a safer city for the residents of the five boroughs. This year has seen a nearly 86 percent decrease in grand larceny patterns, as well as a 68 percent decrease in robbery patterns involving mopeds. More broadly, there has been a 57 percent decrease in all index crimes reported involving mopeds year-to-date. This is all in addition to our efforts that’ve driven down overall crime across our city. With the continuing drop in major crimes we’ve seen in April, May, and so far this month, we are on track to have our sixth straight quarter of declining crime.
I want to thank NYPD Commissioner Tisch, Sanitation Commissioner Lojan, and the men and women of both New York’s Finest and New York’s Strongest for helping us remove these illegal vehicles from our streets, once and for all. Thanks to their efforts, New York City remains the safest big city in America and the best place to raise a family. But it is also a place where you can live knowing your city is looking out for you, day and night, in schools, on subways, on the streets, and the sidewalks.
