Reporting and photos by Stacie Joy
An anticipated enforcement action targeting improperly parked delivery bikes on 11th Street near First Avenue ended this morning without any confiscations after NYPD officials inspected the block and determined that conditions did not warrant further action.
The decision, however, prompted a tense exchange between police and community representatives over where delivery workers can legally park their bikes — and whether those rules are communicated consistently.
The NYPD planned the enforcement action. But after inspecting the block, police officials decided not to seize any bikes.
Deputy Inspector Pamela A. Jeronimo told longtime Community Board 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer that conditions had improved considerably since her previous visit.
"It was much different when I was here a few days ago doing the walkthrough," Jeronimo said. "It's not blocking a crosswalk right now. It looks very, very good."
Stetzer asked how community organizations could advise workers when enforcement decisions seemed to vary day to day.
"I think there's got to be regulations that everybody understands," she said. "Not — today it's OK to be on the sidewalk because it's not a problem, but tomorrow, we might take the ones on the sidewalk."
Jeronimo said workers could park their bikes only in designated Department of Transportation spaces and at bike racks. She said bikes left on sidewalks, in vehicle parking spaces, near scaffolding, or in crosswalks could be subject to enforcement.
Stetzer repeatedly requested the specific legal provisions in writing so community organizations could share and translate the information for workers.
"We can't even translate information because we don't know what the regulations are!" she said.
Jeronimo said she would arrange for NYPD Community Affairs to provide the information.
An ongoing challenge
The exchange highlighted an ongoing challenge for community groups working to address the concentration of delivery bikes along the block while protecting workers' ability to earn a living.
Shawn Garcia, vice chair of Community Board 3's Transportation Committee, said local organizations have spent weeks coordinating with the precinct and immigrant support groups to communicate parking rules to delivery workers.
"We're giving them one directive, and they complied with that to a large degree, which was not chaining their bikes up to city property," Garcia said.
But community representatives later learned that bikes parked in vehicle parking spaces could also be confiscated.
"The notice has not been clear, and it's mixed messaging, so the workers are trying to comply, trying to do their best," he said.
Garcia said the lack of adequate designated parking space remains a central problem. He also raised concerns about the consequences of confiscation for workers who depend on their bikes for income and may be reluctant to navigate the legal process to recover them.
"If you confiscate today, the work is still happening in the neighborhood," he said. "They're going to be somewhere else tomorrow, so we have to come up with a long-term, sustainable solution."
One possible step is to identify and remove abandoned bikes.
Diamy Bah, a community liaison and operations manager with Cafewal, estimated that more than 10 bikes on the block had been abandoned.
He said delivery workers could help identify those bikes through their weekly Wednesday community cleanups, although removing them is difficult because many remain locked.
Bah also welcomed clearer guidance about where workers are allowed to park.
"If they say it's OK that it's here we are supposed to park, then we are going to do every day the outreach for them to park where they are supposed to park," he said.
Meanwhile, the East Village Beautification Project has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow (Thursday) at noon on the corner of 11th Street and First Avenue.
Under the theme "A Safer Corner for Everyone," the neighborhood group is calling for city action to ensure safe, clean and accessible streets.
The gathering comes as residents, delivery workers, and community representatives continue seeking a longer-term solution to congestion and bike-parking issues along the block.
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