Elected officials in Northeast Queens gathered on Monday afternoon to criticize the rollout of e-scooters in Queens and call out the Department of Transportation for failing to discuss their concerns.
The press conference outside City Council Member James Gennaro’s office on Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows brought together city and state representatives who want to see the scooter program indefinitely paused, just like congestion pricing was earlier this summer.
Four representatives said they initially scheduled a town hall that same day for community members to voice their concerns. But they blamed the DOT for the cancellation, citing that the agency had refused to attend and discuss the program’s future.
“DOT, if they cared about anything, they would have been here tonight. They chose not to come. That is a real abomination,” said Council Member Genarro. “They’ve now demonstrated for all to see that they’re not a good faith partner. Shame on DOT.”
The e-scooter program first launched in eastern Queens at the end of June, following a successful pilot program in the East Bronx. Three companies – Bird, Lime and Veo – currently operate thousands of e-scooters in the area.
Since the rollout, residents and officials have raised safety, accessibility and nuisance concerns. Their chief complaint is scooter parking, since they are not docked like Citi Bikes. When not in use, the scooters have been found blocking sidewalks and entrances to homes, particularly when they are not parked upright.
“I don’t think anything has unified the district more than these scooters, and not in a good way,” said Assembly Member Sam Berger.
He noted that while some residents are happy with the program, they are not the ones calling his district office about it or placing 311 calls when a scooter is blocking their path. Complaints, in particular, have come from seniors, wheelchair users and those pushing strollers who may struggle to move the e-scooters out of the way.
“For every one person that is enjoying this, I got 100 others that say this has been an impact on them, a burden,” Berger added.
The spokesperson for the DOT responded by saying that before the launch they conducted outreach in the community and briefed elected officials and community boards. And since the launch, they have continued on-street education and offered additional walkthroughs and meetings with the electeds.
“E-scooter share is just getting started in Eastern Queens, building upon the successful East Bronx program, and we’ve already seen 37,000 unique rider accounts take more than 290,000 trips since we launched in late June. The average trip in Queens is just over 1 mile and the vast majority of trips start and end in the same neighborhood, illustrating that the scooters are fulfilling an important role in connecting residents to mass transit and other important local destinations,” said a DOT spokesperson in an email to QNS on Tuesday.
However, the officials hoped to see a town hall in northeast Queens like the one held in southeast Queens, where dozens of residents voiced their concerns to DOT officials and representatives from the e-scooter companies.
“After these many failed conversations, it seems like they [DOT] do not want to listen to our concerns and have a workable plan,” said Council Member Sandra Ung.
Last week, Ung introduced new legislation to prohibit shared electric scooter systems on certain streets in downtown Flushing. Ung argues that the scooters are unnecessary since the area is a densely populated transit hub with several buses and trains.
However, officials said on Monday that e-scooters are also unsuitable for residential areas lacking public transportation.
“This is not a program that’s really meant for a residential neighborhood,” said Assembly Member David Weprin. “I don’t think we need this program. Just like Governor Hochul went for a permanent pause on congestion pricing, I’d like to see a permanent pause on this program.”
The scooter companies are asking for patience to determine the best enforcement practices for improper parking and how to implement other feedback from the community. Despite the complaints, given the high ridership rates so far, they see the program as a success.
A Lime representative said on Monday that tens of thousands of Queens residents have taken over 135,000 rides on Lime scooters since June 26. That does not include numbers from the other two operators, which have also reported a high demand in the months since the rollout.
“We are investing millions of dollars, including to hire local, Queens-based staff, to ensure that strong demand for shared e-scooters is paired with a robust operations team to keep streets tidy. We’ve done extensive outreach across Queens neighborhoods and are always eager to incorporate feedback from local leaders and community groups to enhance this important service,” said Nicole Yearwood, Senior Manager of Government Relations at Lime, in an email to QNS.
“Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we hope to convince skeptics of the value of this program through open communication and partnership,” Yearwood added.
One Lime e-scooter rider who drove past the press conference told QNS that he has had positive experiences with the e-scooters so far.
“Driving this is not as dangerous as driving a car. I think that they go very, very slow,” said Arsen Kaziyev. “There’s always a danger for you to get hit by a car, for sure, even while you’re walking, but you can’t really do anything reckless on this.”
He said he primarily uses the scooters for short trips, like visiting a friend or getting some fresh air during his free time. However, he believes they are especially convenient for those needing to reach public transportation, particularly in areas without easy access or for people without a car.
While he agrees that parked scooters can sometimes be a nuisance when they block sidewalks, he recognizes that operators are making efforts to address the issue by requiring riders to submit a photo of the parked scooter.
He also noted that, unlike Citi Bike stations, he appreciates that this new transportation option in the neighborhood does not come at the cost of valuable parking spaces.
