Video: NYPD Crushes Illegal Dirt Bikes After Wave Of Busts

NEW YORK CITY — A crushing sight for fans of illegal dirt bikes unfolded Thursday.

NYPD bulldozers in Staten Island ran over and smashed a row of confiscated dirt bikes and ATVs.

Mayor Bill de Blasio cast the crush as a warning.

“I want to be very clear to anyone out there who has an illegal dirt bike: don’t even think about it, because the NYPD will find it and will crush it,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. We’re not playing games.”

Illegal dirt bikes and ATVs have long been a scourge for neighborhoods across the city.

Complaints about noisy drag races surged as the coronavirus pandemic struck — and this summer stood at 10 times the level recorded in 2019, 311 complaints show.

City elected officials such as Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer urged NYPD to address the problem.

And NYPD responded by cracking down on the bikes, which police officials have long called a public safety issue. They put out a $100 bounty for tips about illegal dirt bikes or ATVs.

Robert Martinez, the NYPD's deputy commissioner of support services, said crushing the illegal bikes and ATVs not only protects the safety of pedestrians and motorists, but also the people who ride them.

“These bikes and ATVs are a danger to the public,” he said. “They are not equipped with turn signals, mirrors or even brake lights. And this makes these vehicles impossible to register or to use legally on New York City streets or actually anywhere in New York state.”

NYPD officials regularly perform dirt bike crushes. De Blasio said they offer a simple solution to a problem.

“There are some problems that are tough to overcome, but other problems you can smash and you can crush, and this is one of them,” he said.

Dirt bikes do not belong in New York City. They’re illegal and they’re dangerous.

We’re taking dirt bikes off the streets and ensuring they’re never used again.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) September 16, 2021