NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — As part of a crackdown by the Queens District Attorney’s Office and NYPD to address the use of mopeds in crime, officials announced Friday that 95 illegal scooters were taken off the streets of northern Queens this week, bringing the three-month total of scooters seized to 412.
District attorney’s office detectives and officers from the NYPD’s 110th and 114th precincts searched five spots in Elmhurst, Corona and Long Island City overnight Wednesday into Thursday and confiscated the vehicles.
All 95 scooters were illegally parked, and 71 were unregistered and uninsured, a persistent issue in solving crimes that utilize mopeds like drive-by shootings and robberies.
“Unregistered scooters are not only illegal, but they are also being used to commit violent crimes ... without any accountability or ability to identify the culprit,” DA Melinda Katz said. “We have taken more than 400 of these illegal vehicles off our streets, enhancing safety and security for our communities.”
Additional operations are planned as part of this moped enforcement effort.
“Our proactive enforcement efforts will continue to ensure compliance and eradicate the public threat they pose,” Katz said.