NYPD cracks down on out-of-control mopeds terrorizing NYC: ‘Not on our watch!’
Migrant moped gangs are terrorizing the Big Apple with an unprecedented rash of two-wheeled heists.
The NYPD is now revved up and fighting back.
The department fired the latest salvo in its war against reckless vehicles in Manhattan, including seizing 39 mopeds and motorcycles last week – issuing dozens of summonses and arresting one individual.
The seizures on Thursday evening come amid a frightening spike in mopeds and scooters being used for snatch-and-run crimes.
“Mopeds as a means of flight from the seven major [crimes] is up over 400% since 2022,” one law enforcement source told The Post. “And that’s when we believe we first started seeing the beginning of the wave of new arrivals. That’s telling.
“This is not an anomaly,” the source said.
NYPD stats show that of the seven major crimes, scooters, motorcycles or mopeds were used as the getaway vehicle 790 times so far this year, a huge jump from just 156 times over the same span in 2022.
Another police source said 80% of the rash of recent moped-assisted robberies were tied to recently arrived migrants – including one asylum seeker charged with shooting two of New York’s Finest and another who is on the run from cops after allegedly gunning down two people in the Bronx.
“We can’t underestimate how dangerous this problem is,” the second source said. “They’re not just doing robberies on scooters, they’re also going to be our shoplifters, pick-pockets and burglars. It’s not one thing.”
Josue Ruben Silva, 21, the subject of a police manhunt after allegedly shooting and killing two locals outside a Fordham Heights building taken over by rowdy migrants, is suspected in several moped crimes.
Meanwhile, Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, the 19-year-old Venezuelan migrant charged with shooting two NYPD cops last week, is also a person of interest in a series of moped robberies in the past year.
Police sources said Mata told detectives that he was a gangbanger in Venezuela and met with a New York City “coordinator” for the criminal crew, who provided him with a scooter and instructions.
On Thursday, police launched a counter-offensive, targeting 39 of the two-wheelers with a barrage of summonses – and one arrest.
“Not on our watch! Addressing lawlessness and community quality of life concerns, Times Square Public Safety, MidtownSouth and Midtown North precincts conducted a joint Moped Operation,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry posted to X on Friday night.
“Thirty mopeds/motorcycles were seized, 40 summonses issued and one individual was placed under arrest for Reckless Endangerment after attempting to flee and dragging one of our cops.”
An NYPD spokesperson declined to say exactly where the seizures occurred.
Police shared photos of a cop tangling with one alleged outlaw, an 18-year-old man later charged with reckless endangerment and resisting arrest at Seventh Avenue and West 44th Street during the crackdown.
The officer, who was assigned to Times Square, is seen clutching the scofflaw scooter from behind and taking the rider down – with the bike-wrangling cop suffering bruises and abrasions to his arms and legs.
“Illegal bikes and mopeds are a blight on the quality of life in NYC,” posted StephenFlow, adding, “Unregistered drivers think they don’t need to obey the rules of the road, and so motorists and pedestrians alike suffer the consequences daily. This is EXACTLY what those New Yorkers want to see.”
One 30-year-old Bronx native who works security in the Theater District applauded cops taking mopeds off the streets.
“It’s become a big problem in New York City — they’re robbing people, they’re messing up traffic and they’re just dangerous,” he said, charging “it’s mostly migrants” on the scooters in Times Square.
An employee at Smith’s Bar on Eighth Avenue and 44th Street — across from The Row Hotel turned migrant shelter, where a bevy of mopeds are parked — said he’s seen the NYPD clear out dozens of mopeds outside the business between five and 10 times in the past year and a half “since the migrants have been here.”
Moe, an 18-year-old from Queens who works his family’s hot dog stand at 45th Street and Eighth Avenue, said he sees e-bikers “without a helmet, no plates, on the sidewalk, all the time.”
He said while the NYPD crackdown is “probably a good thing” in terms of street safety, he doesn’t believe it will put an end to the mayhem.
“There are so many [unlicensed scooters], and if I get arrested for that I know I’m gonna get out the next day, and if you take my bike, I’m gonna just buy another one. It’s that simple,” he said smugly.
