On an early Sunday morning in April, Mallory Pittinger was pushing her 7-month-old daughter, Charlotte, in a stroller across Forest Avenue toward Playland when a pair of teenagers quickly approached on electric bicycles.
Pittinger, who lives in the area, started to walk faster as the riders approached, then picked up the pace even more when she realized the two teens had just blazed through a red light, with no signs of slowing for the pedestrians ahead.
Suddenly, Pittinger and a pair of nearby runners heard a loud crash. The two boys collided, not into the mother and daughter, but into each other.
“One boy was probably 10 feet away on the ground and had flipped over his handlebars, and was cursing expletives at his friend,” Pittinger told The Record. “The two women ahead of me stopped. I crossed the crosswalk, and the first woman and I were both yelling, like ‘Are you OK?’ because at this point, he crashed right in the middle of Forest Ave.”
Pittinger estimated the two boys were between the ages of 12 and 14, and neither wore a helmet. Fortunately, everyone in the vicinity avoided serious injury, but Pittinger said one of the boys was holding his arm in pain.
When Pittinger asked if she should call for help, she said the boys replied, “No, no. We live really close by.”
The April 11 crash was the latest in a series of incidents involving e-bikes on Rye’s trails, sidewalks, and roads. The recent uptick in reckless riding, especially among teens, prompted renewed warnings from parents, police, and city leaders about the dangers of improper use of e-bikes.
Two days before the crash Pittinger witnessed, Rye residents Sandra and Kayvan Keyhani had a similar encounter, but weren’t lucky enough to avoid a collision.
“A kid riding a moped ran over my dog at Rye Town Park and didn’t even stop,” Sandra Keyhani posted in the Rye Moms Facebook group. “That kid left the scene. My husband was there and called the police but the kid was gone … my husband is on his way to the 24/7 emergency vet.”
Kayvan Keyhani said their goldendoodle, Nico, ran for the woods after the crash, and the couple called the police to help find him. He stayed overnight at the veterinarian’s office and received treatment for contusions and swelling.
“He’s better, but super traumatized,” Kayvan Keyhani told The Record. “He loved to take walks, now he won’t leave the house. I can’t believe he survived. He was completely run over by a moped going 40 miles per hour with big fat tires. And it wasn’t on the road, it was a pedestrian walkway right in front of the Barley Beach House by Playland. He shouldn’t have been there. It took me by surprise.”
Incidents like these prompted the city to issue an official reminder of the rules regarding electric vehicles, like bikes and scooters, and urging the community to prioritize safe usage.
“As the weather warms up, we are seeing increased use of electric scooters throughout the city, particularly in our downtown and along busy corridors,” wrote City Manager Brian Shea. “With that increased use comes a shared responsibility to operate them safely and in accordance with the law.”
E-bikes and scooters are legal under New York state law, but their operation is subject to requirements designed to protect both riders and pedestrians. They may only be operated on streets with posted speed limits of 30 mph or less and in designated bike lanes. They are not permitted on sidewalks. Riders must be at least 16 years old, and helmets are required for riders ages 16 and 17.
Cristiana Villani, store manager at the Rye Brook location of Danny’s Cycles, said she has seen a 50 percent increase in e-bike sales. The pedal-assist e-bikes the store sells can go up to 25 to 28 mph, she said.
“They’re safe to use, you’ve got to follow the rules of road just like normal bicycles, following the speed limit, following stop signs,” she said. “There are county roads and parks that say, ‘no e-bikes.’ If e-bikes aren’t allowed, there are other places to take them. I understand 16-year-olds maybe having issues, because those kids are still learning the rules of road at that point. But as long as you’re following the rules of the road, they’re safe.”
The issue, she said, isn’t the bikes themselves, but riders who ignore the restrictions.
“It’s definitely an issue,” Villani said of reckless riders. “A lot of the kids who are riding them, a lot aren’t even classified as e-bikes. A lot are actually electric dirt bikes, and those aren’t even allowed on the roads. Dirt bikes are meant to be used on private property. There aren’t even regulations for them other than they can’t be driven on the road. A lot of times, 12- to 14-year-olds see videos and want to use them.”
Villani said Danny’s Cycles doesn’t sell dirt bikes, but fields calls “all the time” about e-bikes. The store offers free test rides for those 16 and older.
“Kids are interested, but it is the law, you have to be 16. Parents come in and ask, we inform them about it,” she said. “There are regulations to keep people safe. Some of that’s not widely known. Kids see them online and want them. We have to explain to parents, because it’s not filtered what exactly it is that they’re getting.”
In recent months, concerns related to e-bikes and scooters have been discussed by the Rye City Council, the Rye Police Advisory Committee, and the Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Committee. Rye police said they will continue to monitor scooter activity and take enforcement action where appropriate, particularly in cases involving unsafe operation or violations of state law.
On March 10, Rye police arrested Benjamin McFadden, 19, of Greenwich, Conn., on charges of reckless driving and unlawful fleeing police on an e-bike at Rye Town Park.
“Officers observed him riding in an unsafe manner,” Lt. Michael Anfuso told The Record. “We do occasionally take calls from motorists reporting reckless operation of youth on e-bikes.”
While no arrests were made or suspects identified in the reckless riding Pittinger witnessed, she said she wouldn’t hesitate to report future incidents, now that she’s familiar with local laws.
“If I had known that was illegal for their age, I honestly would have called the police,” Pittinger said, “because that was scary, and they should have been reprimanded, not just by injury — which, I truly hope that boy is OK — but there should have been other repercussions.”
The city is asking schools, community organizations, and neighborhood groups to help reinforce the rules and promote safe and lawful riding practices.
“We need the entire community to be part of this effort,” Shea said. “Clear expectations, consistent messaging, and responsible behavior will help ensure safety.”
