In a continued push to reclaim the streets and reduce crime, detectives from Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz’s office teamed up with NYPD officers from the 107th Precinct to execute a targeted scooter removal operation. Undercover and uniformed units moved in on a dozen illegally parked and unregistered scooters, removing them from public thoroughfares. In one case, investigators confirmed that the scooter was stolen, a reminder that these seemingly innocuous vehicles often play a role in broader criminal activity.
This seizure is just the latest in a sweeping enforcement initiative launched in early 2024. Since then, law enforcement teams have recovered a total of 1,278 scooters across Queens, a figure that continues to climb with each precinct-level sweep. The strategy is simple: Intercept unregistered or illegally parked scooters before they can be used – or discarded – as getaway vehicles in robberies, drive-by shootings, or other violent incidents.
Officials involved in the effort often point out that scooters lacking proper registration or insurance essentially operate as untraceable instruments. Without license plates or documentation, riders who commit crimes can more easily evade detection or dispose of their vehicle.
Earlier large-scale operations have yielded significant results. In May 2024, Queens DA Katz announced that 95 scooters had been confiscated in northern Queens neighborhoods such as Elmhurst, Corona, and Long Island City. Of those, 71 were unregistered and uninsured. That same month, press releases noted that 412 scooters had been removed since the joint effort began in February. In a later blitz spanning multiple precincts, officials rounded up 99 illegally parked scooters in areas including South Jamaica, South Ozone Park, and Jackson Heights; among them was a scooter reported stolen, and one operator arrested at the scene.
The scope of these operations can be striking. In a single week in February 2024, the DA’s Office and NYPD teams seized 176 scooters across Queens – 103 of which were unregistered. Local reporting on that sweep described coordinated efforts across 18 locations in neighborhoods such as Woodside and Long Island City.
Through each mission, community safety is the driving rationale. DA Katz has repeatedly framed the crackdown not just as a legal enforcement effort but as a preventive measure: eliminating delivery routes, blocking paths, and removing vehicles that can go untraced. NYPD leadership echoes that sentiment, pointing to improved quality of life and fewer vehicles opportunistically used in crime scenes.
