Council Member Sandra Ung (D-20) introduced new legislation prohibiting the DOT’s e-scooter program in parts of eastern Queens.
During the City Council’s Stated Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 12, Ung introduced Intro 1045, which would prohibit the DOT from allowing a person, organization or entity that operates a fleet of shared e-scooters available for short-term rental to install scooter parking corrals and infrastructure on certain streets in Flushing. The legislation would also prohibit the operation of a shared electric scooter on the same roads.
The council member stated in a Friday press release that the DOT has left her “no choice but to seek a legislative solution to a problem they created.”
“I was clear with DOT when this proposal was first presented to me over a year ago: expanding this program to Flushing is a mistake,” Ung said in a statement. “While it may be beneficial for other neighborhoods, our unique challenges and dense urban environment make this plan unworkable and detrimental to our community. Unfortunately, we are now seeing the issues that I, the local community board and my constituents feared would become a reality.”
Ung’s proposed legislation follows the program’s activation on June 27. The e-scooter program includes Flushing in northeast Queens with Jamaica and St. Albans in the southern parts. Ung’s district encompasses Flushing, Mitchell-Linden, Murray Hill, Queensboro Hill and Fresh Meadows.
Three companies, Bird, Lime and Veo, operate the e-scooter program, which deployed 6,000 e-scooters in eastern Queens. The program created approximately 40 parking corrals with painted lines on sidewalks and roadways in Flushing. However, Ung said in her statement that riders are leaving the scooters in no-parking zones and other areas throughout downtown Flushing and surrounding parts of the neighborhood.
The council member called the scooters a “nuisance” and hazard for the elderly and residents with mobility issues. She added that users leave the scooters “virtually anywhere” outside downtown Flushing.
“Since the implementation of this program, my office has received a steady stream of complaints about dangerous operators and improperly parked scooters blocking sidewalks and entrances to businesses and homes,” Ung said in a statement.
Ung has opposed the e-scooter program since last July when she wrote a letter to DOT Commissioner Ydamins Rodriguez, urging the commissioner to reconsider introducing the e-scooter sharing program in Flushing. She has since met with the DOT multiple times to voice her opposition to the program. In May, Ung held a press conference with representatives from Community Board 7 and the Flushing Business Improvement District to state their shared opposition to the expansion of the program in Flushing.
In early September, Ung spoke to QNS about the ongoing challenges the e-scooter program posed to the Flushing community and urged the DOT to hear her constituents’ feedback on the program. Ung told QNS there was no need for the expansion in her district, as downtown Flushing is a transportation hub with access to over 20 bus lines, the 7 train and the LIRR.
Earlier this month, the DOT told QNS it is actively working on creating more designated parking corrals and updating operational zones to address residents’ concerns. Based on community input, no-riding and no-parking zone installations were also included.
According to the DOT, within the first two months of the program, riders have completed nearly 230,000 trips. The average trip in Queens is just over one mile, and the majority of the trips start and end in the same Council District.
Some of the participating e-scooter companies have announced plans to revamp the program based on community feedback.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, QNS broke news that Lime plans to invest $2.5 million annually in operations and technology campaigns in Queens. The company plans to invest $1.5 million into its Queens program this year and $2.5 million annually beginning in 2025 to address community feedback about e-scooter parking and safety.
