NYC Bulldozes 92 Illegal Motorcycles, ATVs So They’ll Never ‘Terrorize’ Again
Reselling them wasn’t an option, according to NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
New York City has a dirt bike and ATV problem, and Mayor Eric Adams will tell you as much. He's made it a personal goal to remove them from the streets, along with other illegal recreational vehicles that "terrorize" the five boroughs. NYC has apparently taken possession of around 2,000 bikes already this year, and Adams made a public spectacle of the latest batch by having them crushed under a bulldozer.
The ordeal included a press conference where media members witnessed Adams saying, “The NYPD heard the call, and they did a Herculean task to get rid of these loud, intimidating and dangerous and illegal dirt bikes and ATVs that are on our streets. For years, we’ve witnessed what happens when they go under control or we do not enforce. They continue to grow over and over and over again.
“And I’m not going to give up on my promise and commitments to rid our streets of these bikes and make all of our boroughs a place where people can move about,” Adams added. “As you can see from the number of bikes here today, we are making good on our promise.”
In total, 92 non-road-legal vehicles were demolished. Adams explained that they were crushed rather than resold so that they could never make their way back to the city, though many have argued that this was the wrong call. Even though most can agree that these machines ought to stay off crowded city streets, they also raise the point that they could've been relocated and sold elsewhere to aid the city's revenue.
Adams doesn't share the same sentiment. In a .gif that he tweeted, you can see him smiling and giving a thumbs-up as the CAT D9R dozer plows over the bikes.
“Today, as we stand in the shadow of the Freedom Tower, we are freeing ourselves from these destructive piece[s] of machinery that’s on our streets,” Adams said.
“They will be crushed today so they can never terrorize our city again, each and every one of them,” he continued. “They will be turned into scrap metal and eventually recycled.”
The NYPD plans on destroying more and more bikes as it's already removed more than double the number it did in 2021. And while it's doubtful that every impounded machine will have its demise publicly broadcast, you can bet Adams is keeping a running tally.
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