Hmmm... "He points to a 2015 study out of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, finding that these e-bike riders exhibited the same behaviors on the roadways as conventional cyclists."
I hate to say this (especially here), but as a former NYC resident and long-time bicyclist, this study would probably be the best reason TO ban ebikes at least in Manhattan and perhaps the other boroughs as well.
The better alternative would be to treat ebikes as regular bicycles and to actually enforce traffic laws. THAT would raise even more uproar among cyclists in NYC than a ban on ebikes.
For a bit of perspective, I grew up in Greenpoint Brooklyn many years ago - and like almost every kid at the time, I rode a bike for fun and transportation (what kid could afford fifteen cents each way for the subway or bus??) I guess I was about 12 when I happened to call home to say I wouldn't be home for lunch. My mom happened to hear some noise in the background and asked where I was calling from -- I was calling from a phone booth (remember those) at Times Square. You could do that in the age before bike messengers and generally crazy cyclists darting in and out of Manhattan's typical daytime 10mph top speed congestion.
The problem causing NYC to crack down on ebikes has almost nothing to do with the "e" -- that's just a convenience because the police can't really chase bikes in most parts of the city (I know from experience) but it is easy to identify and catch a stopped ebike.
