NYPD Puts Up $100 Bounty For Illegal Dirt Bike, ATV Tips

NEW YORK CITY — A $100 bounty could be all it takes to replace the rumbling thunder of illegal dirt bikes and ATVs on New York City’s streets with the sound of a crusher.

NYPD is looking for tips that help officers track down and confiscate the nuisance vehicles, said Chief of Department Rodney Harrison on Thursday.

“We are offering $100 for every illegal dirt bike or ATV confiscated,” he said.

From the streets to the crusher.

Watch the process ATVs and dirt bikes go through once they're confiscated, if no true owner is found. pic.twitter.com/5CCcWqlVF1
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 20, 2021

Illegal dirt bikes and ATVs have long been quality of life and public safety complaints in the city.

And the coronavirus pandemic has only sharpened those concerns. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer last week penned a letter urging NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea and Mayor Bill de Blasio to address the growing masses of dirt bikes and ATVs that often take over city streets.

"With summer approaching, we must act quickly to prevent an ATV, dirt bike, or street racing-related tragedy – crashes have occurred in other cities,” she wrote.

NYPD officials share those concerns.

Motorcycle crashes surged during the pandemic and claimed 51 lives, said Kim Royster, the NYPD’s transportation chief. She said this year that 367 injuries have been reported from ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles, as well as eight deaths.

“These collisions are random, unpredictable but definitely preventable,” she said.

Harrison urged New Yorkers with information about illegal dirt bikes and ATVs to call 1-800-577-TIPS. He said people riding such vehicles should stop, and if they’re caught their bikes will be confiscated.

“It is not legal, it will go in the crusher,” he said.