By Bill Parry
Several of the borough’s police precincts took part in an NYPD crackdown on roving groups of motorcycles, ATVs and dirt bike riders who become a nuisance on city streets during the warm weather months. Officers from the 110th, 115th, 111th and 109th precincts issued 83 summonses to unlicensed operators and confiscated six motorcycles Saturday for violations.
“These bands and groups of motorcycles often engage in reckless driving through our streets,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Carlos Gomez said. “They go through red lights, they go through stop signs, they speed on our residential streets. Oftentimes when they get on highways, they will stop the traffic on that highway in order to perform stunts.”
Such an episode of biker-wilding took place in August when officers from the 107th Precinct discovered a large group of dirt bike and ATV riders driving recklessly in the north and southbound lanes of the Van Wyck Expressway.
Police Commissioner William Bratton called the riders “knuckleheads” and promised to crush confiscated vehicles later this spring. He said the NYPD would carry out operations every weekend in an effort to “get these characters” and asked the public to report such packs of riders by calling 311 or 911.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
