NYC councilwoman wants to ban e-scooter program in Downtown Flushing

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) -- New York City's e-scooter share program in Eastern Queens continues to get pushback from lawmakers.

But one of the e-scooter companies said it is listening to community feedback and working to make the program stronger.

The program started in the East Bronx in 2021. This summer, it expanded to 20 square miles in Queens.

Ever since, some New York City Council members have spoken out, calling the e-scooters a hazard.

New York City Council member Sandra Ung is one of them.

“Sometimes people park them in their lawns," Ung said. "People use them on the sidewalks. Even on the streets a lot of people don’t follow the traffic rules.”

Last week, she introduced legislation to have the program banned in Downtown Flushing, saying there is already enough transportation options there. 

“There is a lot going on in Downtown Flushing. A lot of people on the sidewalks on the streets, dealing with illegal vendors, so the sidewalks are very congested. So what is not needed is an addition and more congestion,” Ung said.

Three companies operate New York City's e-scooter program: Lime, Bird and Veo.

Lime told PIX11 News it is aware of the community pushback. It said riders are given warnings if they park the e-scooters inappropriately and can face fines and even be banned from the app. 

Nicole Yearwood is Lime’s senior manager for government relations.

"The program is new number one, so it does take a bit of a learning curve for people to understand where to properly park vehicles. It’s also something people need to get used to seeing in their neighborhoods. We’ve been educating our riders via email and messages," Yearwood said.

The company added that it is now investing $1.5 million this year and $2.5 million per year going forward in Queens in its operations and awareness campaigns.

“We’ve hired six foot patrol people so far in Queens, and they’re working to make sure vehicles are properly parked and to tidy up in certain areas where it’s necessary, and that’s part of the large investment we’re making in addition to distributing helmets," Yearwood said.

As for the city, the NYCDOT said nearly 300,000 e-scooter trips have been taken in Queens alone since the program launched in late June. 

The DOT added that it is working on creating more parking corrals and installing more no-riding and no-parking zones. 

A NYCDOT spokesperson said, “E-scooter share is just getting started in Eastern Queens, building upon the successful East Bronx program, and we’ve already seen 37,000 unique rider accounts take more than 290,000 trips since we launched in late June. The average trip in Queens is just over 1 mile and the vast majority of trips start and end in the same neighborhood, illustrating that the scooters are fulfilling an important role in connecting residents to mass transit and other important local destinations.”

One of the other operators, Veo, told PIX11 News it is educating its riders on proper parking and usage in the community and in the app. Veo added that it is working with community leaders and the DOT to improve the program.