You are reading

Queens DA in collaboration with NYPD confiscates 40 illegal scooters in western Queens

DA Melinda Katz announced Monday that more than 40 motorized scooters were seized across three western Queens police precincts in a recent crackdown. Photo courtesy of the DA’s Office

Feb. 5, 2024 By Bill Parry While the use of scooters and mopeds have proliferated in recent years, so too has their use as a tool for criminals in armed robberies and drive-by shootings—including a bloody rampage in July that left an 86-year-old grandfather dead in Richmond Hill, authorities say. On Monday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that more than 40 illegal motorized scooters were seized as part of a joint operation between her office and several police precincts across western Queens on Roosevelt Avenue and Long Island City. The bikes are also notorious for being involved in traffic collisions and other mayhem, officials said, which also prompted the operation. “The often careless and dangerous operation of motorized scooters on our roads, and even our sidewalks, has become an urgent concern,” Katz said. “Their use to commit violent crimes and escape will not be tolerated and requires immediate action.” A total of 43 scooters were seized for being illegally parked on sidewalks along busy commercial strips with high pedestrian traffic. Detectives from the district attorney’s office working with officers from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst, the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights and the 114th Precinct in Astoria focused on 10 locations. Of the 43 scooters confiscated, nearly all were unregistered. “This latest operation in the NYPD’s citywide efforts to curb the illegal use of motorized scooters has undoubtedly made the people of Queens safer,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “New Yorkers see it every day: People putting others at risk by recklessly operating unregistered scooters, speeding through red lights, and riding on sidewalks. In addition to blatant traffic violations, some riders commit shootings, robberies, and other violent acts.”

Additional operations between the DA’s office and the NYPD are being planned. Photo courtesy of the DA’s Office

The use of an illegal scooter to commit a crime garnered headlines last year when 25-year-old Thomas Abreu of Cypress Hills was indicted for murder and five counts of attempted murder for randomly firing from a motorbike at pedestrians and a fellow motorist during a shooting spree in Queens that left an 86-year-old married father of six dead and two others wounded.

The use of motorized scooters has become prevalent in crimes across the borough, including the shooting rampage in Richmond Hill in July in which Brooklyn’s Thomas Abreu allegedly gunned down an 86-year-old man and left two others wounded. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Additional operations are planned across Queens as part of an effort to get illegal motorized scooters and other vehicles off the road. “We are partnering with the NYPD to do proactive enforcement to make our streets and communities safer for law-abiding New Yorkers,” Katz said.
email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Ozone Park man indicted for kidnapping and assault of 11-year-old girl in Forest Park: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted an Ozone Park man for abducting an 11-year-old girl in Forest Park and sexually assaulting her before the victim’s father intervened in May.

Teddy Moussignac, 44, of 102nd Street, was arraigned Friday in Queens Supreme Court on a seven-count indictment charging him with kidnapping, assault, two counts of sexual assault in the first degree, and other related crimes.

Western Queens lawmakers back DOT’s 31st Street bike lane redesign

June 13, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas and Council Member Tiffany Cabán issued a joint statement voicing strong support for the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) proposed redesign of 31st Street in Astoria, which includes the installation of eight-foot-wide protected bike lanes beneath the elevated N/W subway tracks.

Long-haired gunman sought after man shot in leg on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica: NYPD

Police from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica are looking for a nefarious-looking gunman who shot a man in front of an apartment building at 121-02 Sutphin Blvd. on the night of Tuesday, June 10.

The 29-year-old victim was in front of the building at around 7 p.m. when a stranger discharged a firearm, striking him in the right leg, police said Thursday. The victim traveled by private means to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. The gunman fled the location on foot southbound on Sutphin Boulevard toward Rockaway Boulevard.