On 11th Street, residents and businesses say e-bike congestion needs a lasting solution

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Residents and business owners gathered yesterday at the corner of 11th Street and First Avenue to urge the city to address ongoing e-bike congestion, blocked sidewalks, and sanitation concerns along the block. 

The press conference, themed "A Safer Corner for Everyone," was organized by the newly formed East Village Beautification Project, whose members say more than two years of complaints have failed to produce a lasting solution. 

Christine Renzi, a property owner on the block who founded the group about a month ago, said it already has more than 60 members.

"For more than two and a half years, we have been raising concerns about conditions on this block," Renzi said. "Residents and businesses have spoken up repeatedly, but we still do not have a real solution." 

She described sidewalks crowded with e-bikes, food waste, rats and difficulty accessing residential buildings and storefronts. 

She also questioned why so many delivery workers and their bikes have been concentrated on a single residential block. 

"Delivery workers deserve respect and appropriate places to gather," she said. "But this residential block is not an appropriate place for over 400 e-bikes and workers to gather unlawfully at all hours." 

Organizers cited the figure of 400 bikes, but it has not been independently verified. 

Renzi also criticized the lack of resident and business participation in discussions about the block's future, saying those most directly affected have not been invited to meetings with elected officials and delivery-worker representatives. 

"We need a win-win solution," she said. "We want to come up with an equitable solution for everybody." 

Several speakers described how conditions have affected their daily lives and businesses. Mike Paredes, the former owner of REVMPD, a consignment shop at 178 First Ave., a storefront south of the corner, said the congestion contributed to his decision to close the business in March.

Paredes, who now works as an MTA bus driver, said his store relied heavily on foot traffic and window displays to attract customers. As bikes and groups of people increasingly occupied the space outside, he said, that visibility suffered. 

"Owning the store was my dream," he said. "I'm here for the other businesses that are here, and I hope that they won't have to share the same story." 

Robert Zerilli, co-owner of East Village Institution Veniero's Pasticceria and Caffè at 342 E. 11th St. on the next block, said the problems extend beyond any one storefront.

"Small businesses depend on people walking through the neighborhood, looking through the windows, meeting a friend, coming for coffee, or something to eat," he said.

Zerilli said he knew of at least six businesses that had closed near the corner in the past two years, though he emphasized that he was not attributing those closures solely to e-bike congestion.

"This isn't about demonizing anyone. It's about balance," he said. "People need to work. Residents need to get around. Storefront businesses need to remain accessible." 

For Izabela Padula, who has lived on the block for nearly four years, navigating the sidewalk with her baby and stroller has become a daily challenge.

"When I leave home with my baby, I should be able to push a stroller down the sidewalk," she said, calling on the city to maintain clear pedestrian access. 

Longtime residents Beth Graves and Michael Anton also spoke about deteriorating sanitation conditions. Graves, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1974, said she sometimes struggles to get through the block while walking her dog to Tompkins Square Park. 

She also expressed concerns about discarded food and an increase in rats. Anton, a resident since 1981, directed some of his criticism toward the delivery-app companies themselves. He compared the difficult working conditions faced by delivery workers to those experienced by his immigrant grandparents in sweatshops. 

"DoorDash, Seamless, Uber Eats. You have made so much money," he said. "Do something for the people who have made that possible." 

Anton suggested the companies help provide off-street parking and gathering spaces for delivery workers rather than leaving the burden on residential blocks. 

Meanwhile, the block saw a cleanup effort yesterday afternoon. According to NYPD sources familiar with the operation, police worked with delivery workers to identify abandoned and derelict bikes.

The Department of Sanitation discarded and removed a dozen bikes. Police took two additional bikes obstructing the sidewalk to the 9th Precinct and vouchered them. Police said the bikes were turned over voluntarily. [Photo below by Jim Naureckas]

The cleanup followed continued NYPD attention to the block, though residents at the press conference questioned whether the improvements would last. 

"The NYPD was here yesterday and today, and we appreciate that," Renzi said. "But two days of attention are not a substitute for daily enforcement." 

Organizers are calling for coordinated action by the NYPD, Department of Sanitation, other city agencies and elected officials to keep sidewalks and building entrances accessible, address sanitation and develop a longer-term plan for delivery-bike parking.

Their message was that the city needs to find a solution that accommodates delivery workers without leaving residents and small businesses to contend with the same conditions day after day.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Deliveristas confront new hurdles after 11th Street bike sweep 

• Mass e-bike seizure sparks tensions and debate on 11th Street 

• Deliveristas face new enforcement in the East Village

No bikes seized, but questions remain over 11th Street enforcement

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.

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Deliveristas confront new hurdles after 11th Street bike sweep 

• Mass e-bike seizure sparks tensions and debate on 11th Street 

• Deliveristas face new enforcement in the East Village

11th Street e-bike hub faces renewed enforcement

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Renewed enforcement is coming to the 11th Street block between First Avenue and Avenue A that has become the de facto staging and parking area for delivery workers and their e-bikes.

Notices posted in the area state that, effective Wednesday, Oct. 7, bikes should no longer be secured to city poles, DOT signs, Parks Department fences or other city property. The NYPD says another enforcement operation involving the removal of illegally secured bikes is possible, though no date has been set.

The ongoing situation on 11th Street came up several times during Community Board 3's full board meeting Tuesday night, including during remarks by Assemblymember Keith Powers. 

Powers said the 9th Precinct plans to resume enforcement involving bikes illegally secured to city property. He also said Sanitation services would be increased to provide more regular cleanups.

"We're trying to do this in kind of a humane way, while also recognizing enforcement is just absolutely part of the equation," Powers said.

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer offered a more detailed look at why the problem has proved difficult to resolve.

Stetzer said there are probably more than 100 e-bikes on the block, many belonging to delivery workers who commute by subway from the outer boroughs and leave their bikes near where they work in the East Village.

"It is not illegal to have the bikes overnight. There is just no law against that," she said during the meeting.

Stetzer said the bikes must be left in legal parking spaces or corrals, but there aren't enough of either to accommodate all of them.

Stetzer said workers previously tried spreading the bikes around the neighborhood, only to have some stolen. With the bikes costing more than $1,000 and serving as the workers' means of making a living, she said they began concentrating them in one location where they could be watched.

She called the conditions "an unfair burden on the block," while arguing that the larger problem is a lack of infrastructure for delivery workers, including places to wait between orders.

"I'm going to say the reason there is no place to accommodate them is a failure of the city to plan and govern," Stetzer said.

She noted that the City Council office is paying for supplemental cleaning and the Department of Sanitation is providing additional service. JOCO, one of the companies that rents e-bikes to delivery workers, is also looking for fenced-in outdoor space, she said, and has been discussing a possible site referred by the Council office.

"We've asked the city to help us look for sites," Stetzer said. "It’s not for lack of trying."

An 'overwhelming' situation

Residents continue to push for a longer-term solution. One nearby resident who recently contacted EVG described the concentration of bikes along 11th Street as overwhelming and said previous sweeps provided little more than a temporary fix. 

The resident suggested relocating bike storage to a less residential area and argued that the delivery companies themselves should help provide dedicated storage. 

The renewed focus on the block follows several previous attempts to address conditions along 11th Street. During a July 2025 sweep, dozens of e-bikes and mopeds were removed after being secured to scaffolding and poles. Subsequent efforts included opening space at the nearby Lower East Side Playground for delivery workers to rest.

What the 2 notices mean 

The Oct. 7 notices have been posted alongside separate signs referencing Oct. 1, creating some confusion about what will happen — and when.

An NYPD source clarified the difference for EVG. 

The white notice concerns bikes secured to city property and serves as advance warning that, effective Oct. 7, bikes should not be attached to city poles, DOT signs, Parks Department fences or other city property.

For now, the NYPD described the effort as educational.

“Education, education, education,” the source said. The advance notice is intended to make sure delivery workers understand the rules before another enforcement operation takes place.

Another operation involving cutting locks and chains and removing bikes is possible, the source said, although no date has been set. Any bikes removed would be vouchered and stored using the same process as during previous operations.

The yellow notice concerns something different: the regular Thursday Sanitation cleanup. Those cleanups have typically taken place at 9 a.m., when many of the bikes are still parked on the block. Representatives for delivery workers told officials that many workers arrive later in the day and begin moving the bikes around 2 p.m. Officials are therefore shifting the cleanup to 5 p.m., when Sanitation should have better access to the curb and street.

And about the conflicting times printed on the yellow notice — 5 a.m. in one place and 5 p.m. in another? The NYPD source said 5 a.m. is a typo. The intended cleanup time is 5 p.m.

 

As EVG has reported, the sweeps and cleanups have yet to resolve the underlying problem: Enforcement may clear illegally secured bikes, but it doesn't answer the larger question of where the workers — and their bikes — are supposed to go.

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Deliveristas confront new hurdles after 11th Street bike sweep 

• Mass e-bike seizure sparks tensions and debate on 11th Street 

• Deliveristas face new enforcement in the East Village

NYPD sources: There was no bomb or active-shooter threat at Most Holy Redeemer

Photo by Stacie Joy from Wednesday 

Reporting by SJ 

Multiple NYPD sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, provided additional details about the extensive police response late Wednesday afternoon at Most Holy Redeemer Church on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The initial 911 call reported that a young, thin white man had forced his way into the church. According to the sources, the caller did not report a bomb, explosives, a suicide vest or an active shooter. 

The Emergency Service Unit K-9 teams were requested to help search the large building for the suspect — not in response to an explosives threat, the sources said. Officers searched the church for about two hours but did not find the man. 

The investigation has uncovered no evidence of a crime beyond the suspected attempted burglary, which left a broken door lock and window. Police have found no indication that anything was taken.

As previously reported, the block was closed as ESU officers, Strategic Response Group members, multiple K-9 teams and other law enforcement personnel responded. Some officers carried shields and long guns.

EVG has not received an explanation for why such an extensive response was deployed for the reported break-in.

Police search Most Holy Redeemer after reported break-in

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Updated Sept. 5 here.

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Police searched Most Holy Redeemer Church for about two hours early this evening after a witness reported seeing a man force his way inside the closed building at 173 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The witness who called 911 described the suspect as a tall, thin, white male. He reportedly jumped the fence, broke open the church doors and entered the building before 4:30 p.m. 

The block was roped off as Emergency Service Unit officers, Strategic Response Group members, multiple K-9 units and other law enforcement personnel responded. 

Some officers carried shields and long guns while teams searched the building.

The size of the response alarmed onlookers. 

Officers repeatedly told people at the scene that there was no bomb threat. It was not immediately clear what prompted such an extensive response. 

Police called off the search around 6:30 p.m. without finding the man. 

Some at the scene speculated that he had left before officers arrived, though this was not confirmed.

Police sources confirmed that the man damaged the doors.

Photos from the scene also show a broken window. It was not immediately known whether anything had been taken or if there was additional damage inside.

The break-in occurred two days after neighbors, former parishioners and preservationists gathered outside the church to call for its preservation and reopening after a year-long closure.

Woman unharmed after reported domestic hostage situation on 8th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

A woman is safe following a reported domestic hostage situation late this afternoon on Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

There was a large NYPD presence on the block, with multiple officers — including members of the Hostage Negotiation Team — responding, along with drones and an inflatable safety cushion set up on the blocked-off street.

NYPD officials said police were responding to an emotionally disturbed man. They described the incident as domestic in nature, initially reported as a hostage situation.

Authorities said they were using multiple resources as the situation unfolded. Sources said the man was armed with knives. There were no reported injuries to the man's wife. 

The NYPD eventually removed the man from the barricaded apartment around 7:45 p.m. He was seen strapped to a gurney and taken to an ambulance. It was not immediately known what charges he may face.

Editor's note: The man's face has been blurred in the photos out of respect for privacy.

NYPD seeks suspect in alleged assault on Sunny and Annie's employee

Photo by Stacie Joy

The NYPD has released information about an assault at Sunny and Annie's on the NW corner of Sixth Street and Avenue B last Monday night. 

According to the NYPD Crime Stoppers, the suspect "became irate, and began disputing with a 68-year-old male employee." The suspect allegedly grabbed a gallon of water and struck the employee in the face, "causing pain, redness and swelling."

The suspect fled northbound on Avenue B and remains at large. 

Tips can be shared confidentially with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or online.

🚨WANTED FOR AN ASSAULT: Monday, February 16, 2026, at approximately 10:00 P.M., an unidentified individual was making a purchase inside of a commercial establishment located at 94 Avenue B, when he became irate, and began disputing with a 68-year-old male employee. The… pic.twitter.com/bKjgi6ltkI

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) February 20, 2026

A 'cleanup only' operation on 11th Street and 1st Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

What's happening at 11th Street and First Avenue? "Cleanup" is the word of the day.

Unlike the last cleanup — held at noon on one of the hottest days of the year — this one took place yesterday morning (Jan. 16) at 9 on one of the frostiest. It was 24 degrees, with a real-feel in the teens.

The new Mayor has been vocal about a shift at City Hall away from "sweeps." And unlike previous actions in the area, Friday's operation was being described as a cleanup at 11th Street and First Avenue — with no enforcement behind it, according to the NYPD.

Vincent Gragnani, press secretary for the NYC Department of Sanitation's Bureau of Public Affairs, described it as routine street and sidewalk cleaning.

"This was a standard street and sidewalk cleaning operation, at the request of NYPD, not a more involved joint operation," he said. "We were asked to clean litter in the area, as we routinely do at the request of agencies, elected officials, community complaints, etc, and that is exactly what we did."

As we've been reporting, the actions here follow a surge in community complaints about noise, congestion and food waste tied to the block's unofficial use as a waiting and staging area for e-bike delivery workers (aka deliveristas). The quality-of-life concerns have also come up regularly at recent 9th Precinct Community Council meetings.

"This is a cleanup on 11th Street based upon community complaints," a police source said. "We're not doing enforcement at this time."

The source said the plan was for deliveristas to move their bicycles to allow for the cleanup.

The NYPD said they would not be taking any bikes or bags, unlike previous actions in this area. 

"The goal is not to take anything. We're using outreach to spread the word." 

Will summonses be issued?

"Not unless we observe someone breaking the law," the source said. 

On-site Sanitation 

Sanitation workers on site said they were told the NYPD likely wouldn't be part of the morning's cleanup, citing "a change in plans."

A supervisor said the department was there to clean the area in response to complaints, using mechanical brooms, a motorized truck, and backpack blowers. Sanitation can typically reach the curbline, but the bike corral makes the area difficult to access.

"It's up to the NYPD if we take anything," the supervisor said. "We don't even have the tools to remove bike locks and chains. But if there's abandoned property that no one claims, we remove it."

Community Board 3 

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer said she made the cleanup signs and had them translated into multiple languages.

She was on site Friday morning, along with Tyler Hefferon, executive director of EV Loves NYC, several community members, and a representative from Councilmember Harvey Epstein's office.

Hefferon states he was given additional copies of the notice and asked to assist with outreach. 

"I was told this was a Department of Sanitation-led cleanup and that there would be no bike seizures like last time, but I encouraged people to treat this like alternate-side street parking, Hefferon said. "It did not seem as urgent as the last time, but local mutual aid groups plus Los Deliveristas Unidos helped me get the word out." 

Meanwhile, Stetzer struck a mix of optimism and frustration. She said the cleanup effort was discussed at the Community Board's monthly District Service Cabinet meeting, which she noted is required under the City Charter and brings together multiple city agencies focused on service delivery issues in the district.

When the proposed cleanup came up, she said Sanitation, the NYPD, the City Council, and DOT were in attendance and "participated in plans," adding, "This is why these meetings are so valuable and productive." She also noted that community construction liaisons for ongoing projects attend and provide status reports.

Stetzer said the Board is "very excited to work with the new mayor's office," but has "very frustratingly… not been able to do so at this time." She added that the city's Community Assistance Unit (CAU) "appears to have been disbanded but not replaced." 

She said she hopes the Mayor's office reaches out to community boards soon, "so that as city agencies we can work with them and request information and support."

As for the operation itself, Stetzer said she felt "the cleanup went well," emphasizing that "it was a cleanup, not a punitive action." She said the larger issue remains unresolved: "Parking a hundred bikes on this block is not sustainable," and simply adding more bike corrals — which she said can take a year to install — "is not a solution." 

She called it "a failure of government to plan and provide infrastructure," and said the community is hopeful the new administration will help resolve the situation.

Stetzer pointed to the role of delivery app companies, saying they are "making money on the work of the delivery workers without providing accommodation or benefits." She said the City needs both an infrastructure plan and legislation "that will hold companies responsible for bike storage and necessary accommodation for the workers." 

Without that, she said, complaints from residents can lead to enforcement actions where "punitive actions fall on the workers who have no means to comply."

She also noted that many delivery workers are "new Americans" and said that past bike confiscations required court appearances to retrieve the bikes — something that can put some workers at risk. Stetzer said the goal is a plan that supports delivery, improves working conditions, holds app companies accountable, and gives workers a realistic way to comply.

As for what comes next, both NYPD and Sanitation officials said they expect to continue responding to community complaints in the area, while everyone waits for a longer-term solution.

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Deliveristas confront new hurdles after 11th Street bike sweep 

• Mass e-bike seizure sparks tensions and debate on 11th Street 

• Deliveristas face new enforcement in the East Village