MOTORIZED BIKE AND ATV riders take over Grand Concourse at Van Cortlandt Avenue in the Bedford Park section of The Bronx on Sunday, March 26, 2023, later crossing Mosholu Parkway and into Norwood. Video by David Greene via YouTube

Nearly a year after the NYPD rolled out a new initiative to help crack down on illegal All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) dirt bikes, and scooters, the NYPD’s Community Response Team is back with over 300 officers from around the city, and are now working together to track riders caught using them.

 

During a press conference covering several different crime-related topics on Friday, April 14, held at the Tweed Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, the City’s deputy mayor for public safety, Philip Banks lll, and NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell addressed the hot-button issue.

 

Banks said, “We hear this time and time again from the residents, that these vehicles are being driven recklessly around the neighborhoods and being operated at all hours of the night, and people like myself are sick of it. They go against traffic, they ride on the sidewalk, and when I was the borough commander in Manhattan, Chief, it was one quality of life issue that was actually the most challenging. You try and pull them over, they run. You chase them and put innocent people, potential lives in danger.”

For his part, Chell said, “Last year, in the summer, we created a community response team out of the Chief of Patrol’s office, about 12 cops. We started bringing some cops in from around the city to help us out and we took over 10,000 ATVs, dirt bikes and illegal mopeds off the street. It was very successful, so this year we made it official. We just rolled out in the beginning of April; every borough has a community response team.”

 

Norwood News recently reported on a rider seen racing his bike inside the Williamsbridge Oval in Norwood in close proximity to seniors and kids on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

 

Chell went on to explain that each community response team consists of a lieutenant, two sergeants, and 16 officers who go after the illegal riders, stolen cars, and so-called “ghost car” vehicles which are cars with fake paper plates. He said the teams are assisted by the New York State Police, the NYPD’s aviation unit, the department’s intelligence division, as well as the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), which he said can shut down bridges and provide real time video to the NYPD.

 

Chell continued, “Last year, on the FDR Drive, I was nearly run over by one of these ATVs.” Recalling another bike-related incident the previous night, Chell said, “Last night at about seven o’clock, about 25 quads, the three-wheel quads, came off the Brooklyn Bridge right by One P.P. [One Police Plaza, NYPD HQ]. I don’t know if they were trying to send us a message.” He continued, “Little did they know we were out there with Highway and Aviation, and we corralled every one of them on the FDR and we took all their bikes.” Chell said officers told him that commuters stuck in the traffic at the time of the intervention applauded them.

He added, “That’s a strong message; that’s what we’re doing, and the best part of last night [was] no one got hurt, no chases.” He said the NYPD has confiscated over 860 illegal bikes since Jan. 1. Banks concluded, “We want these individuals to get a motorcycle license, purchase a motorcycle, and operate your vehicle… but you can’t do it in these streets.”

 

A few days prior to the April 14th public safety press conference, on Tuesday, April 11, New York City Mayor Eric Adams attended a separate press conference in Times Square, where the NYPD unveiled the department’s new crime fighting robots, egg-shaped devices that roll around and which, it is understood, will be deployed in both hostage and potential bomb-threat scenarios.

 

The new robots are in addition to the so-called “Digidog,” a dog-like robot unveiled by the NYPD as part of the department’s crime-fighting strategy in February 2021. Its deployment garnered controversy at a time when the City was struggling to feed people during the height of the pandemic, and was seen by at least one elected official as an ill-judged expense.

 

The NY Post reported at the time that Bronx and Queens Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), a Democrat, said the money and technology devoted to the robot could have been put to better use. She tweeted, “Please ask yourself when was the last time you saw next-generation, world class technology for education, healthcare, housing, etc. consistently prioritized for underserved communities like this?”

At this year’s April 11th press conference, the NYPD also presented new “Star Chase” global positioning [tracking] technology. Unlike the robots, the Star Chase technology, which comprises different types of electronic devices, was demonstrated off-camera.

 

According to the company’s website, the Star Chase vehicle mounted GPS launcher, for example, deploys a GPS tracking tag onto a suspect’s vehicle. Once the GPS tag sticks to the vehicle, it communicates positional data to the CoreView mapping platform in real time. “Law enforcement can then plan and coordinate an informed tactical response to make a safe arrest while maintaining community and officer safety,” an extract from the company’s website reads.

 

On Sunday, April 30, at another NYPD-related press conference held inside Castle Hill Library, Adams and Chell unveiled yet another type of Star Chase device for civilian use which can assist with auto theft prevention. It consists of an electronic tracking card which, once activated, can track the location of a stolen vehicle.

 

During the same press conference, Norwood News asked Chell for more information on how the police-tracking system [vehicle mounted GPS launcher] worked, which is different from the civilian-use technology. He replied, “It’s just a handheld device or a device on the front of a car and it shoots a sticky-glue device and it hits the back of a [pursued/stolen] car, it sets off a GPS so we can track the car.”

 

He said the pursued/stolen car can then be followed by a helicopter, and patrol cars can also follow at a safe distance without causing injury to the public and without risk of losing sight of the pursued vehicle, since the helicopter is tracking it. The patrol cars can then close in on the pursued vehicle once the driver either stops or abandons it. Chell was asked if the Star Chase technology also worked on illegal bikes. He replied, “Not allowed to use it on ATVs.” When asked if it worked on any other types of bikes, he replied, “No.”

Over the last few years, a large band of bikers of every type of two and three-wheeled vehicle imaginable has been seen at least once a year, always on Sundays, rolling down the Grand Concourse or across Fordham Road.

 

Police radio transmissions heard by Norwood News on Sunday, March 26, referenced an NYPD helicopter which was seemingly hovering over a large group of bikers who had converged outside the entrance of the Allen Shandler Recreation Area inside Van Cortlandt Park. The recreation area is bordered by Jerome Avenue to the east, the Major Deegan Expressway to the west, East 233rd Street to the north, and Mosholu Golf Course to the southeast.

 

The transmission also referenced at least one NYPD ground patrol unit in pursuit of a pair of pick-up trucks which were apparently loaded with ATVs and which were headed northbound towards Yonkers. Based on the radio transmission, it was understood police were attempting to intercept the trucks. Norwood News contacted the NYPD for more information about the alleged pursuit but did not receive a response.

 

Meanwhile, on the same day, around the same time, Norwood News witnessed a group of around 250 bikers riding various types of illegal bikes along the outer two lanes of the Grand Concourse, and on the sidewalk, coming from the direction of Jerome Avenue / Tracey Towers, later turning left onto Van Cortlandt Avenue, across Mosholu Parkway, and up the hill into Norwood.

The group included several ATVs, at least one of which was being dangerously driven on the sidewalk close to the entrance of a residential building by a middle-aged man who was simultaneously smoking a cigar. The bikers took several minutes to pass through the area and did not stop for the red light on Grand Concourse at Van Cortlandt Avenue, nor for the other drivers who had the right of way. It would be another minute or two before the ear-deafening sound of the bikes’ collective exhausts dissipated and the area returned to near silence.

 

During the 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting on May 27, 2021, Norwood News was present when police officers proudly wheeled several confiscated motorbikes past a group of appreciative residents who cheered and applauded the display. During the course of the meeting, several more illegal bikes were taken from riders passing through the blocks around the Webster Avenue 52nd Precinct stationhouse.

 

We later reported on the announcement on Aug. 2, 2022, of a citywide crackdown on illegal bikes during a press conference held at the 52nd Precinct hosted by the NYPD’s Highway One Captain Lee Manuel and the 52nd Precinct Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Jeremy Scheublin, during which dozens more confiscated illegal bikes were placed on display.

More recently, Norwood News reported on the sentencing by Supreme Court Justice Linda Poust-Lopezon on Thursday, April 20, of Mario Rosario to five years’ probation and 500 hours of community service for his plea to criminally negligent homicide in the death of his son, 4-year-old Mario “Mjay” Rosario, as the two rode on a scooter and crashed into a car in the Fordham Manor section of the borough on August 15, 2022, as reported by Norwood News at the time.

 

Police said the child had not been equipped with a helmet at the time of the collision. The NYPD had previously confirmed to Norwood News that the scooter driver’s “criminal possession of stolen property” charge pertained to a scooter that was being driven by the boy’s father at the time of the accident.

 

On Sunday, April 2, Scheublin said officers from the 52nd Precinct confiscated 30 bikes in one day. “We got them from all over, from a bunch of different locations,” he said. “We prefer to get them when they’re stopped to avoid the pursuit, but sometimes that’s the way it goes, but most of these were gotten when they were stopped.”

 

Scheublin concluded, “It’s crazy, right? I love to take them. We were leading the city in the 5-2 last year. We had 540 for the year as the final number.” He added, “This year, we’re looking to do the same. We’re starting now with some initiatives. Like I said, this past Sunday we took 30, and we’re going to continue. It’s not only dangerous [to ride the bikes] on the sidewalk but they use them to commit robberies and other acts of violence around the community, so it’s always been a priority for us.”

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.