Hoboken City Council approves e-bike delivery licensing ordinance by 5-3 vote

The Hoboken City Council approved an e-bike delivery ordinance by a 5-3 vote at last night’s meeting, with one member calling for a veto after Police Chief Steven Aguiar raised objections to the measure.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

Aguiar commended the governing body and administration for coming together and reaching a consensus on an important topic before he expressed concerns about enforcement.

“As the chief of police, I want to support any initiative that promotes public safety. Unfortunately, I can’t support this ordinance as it’s written. I support the initiative and the thought behind it because the thought behind it is the safety of the public,” he said.

“But I cannot support this ordinance as it’s written. It’s not done in a way, in my professional opinion, that will make a difference outside of possibly wearing a vest so you can see somebody coming on a sidewalk. We already have an ordinance that addresses riding on the sidewalk.”

While he acknowledged that the council is the legislative body in Hoboken, he expressed disappointment that the police department, who is in charge of enforcement, did not have a bigger seat at the table for this ordinance.

The ordinance mandates that deliveristas register with the city for $5 a year and receive a fluorescent vest with an ID number and also occasionally take tests about traffic safety rules.

The local legislation also calls for $50 fine for each infraction, at the discretion of the Hoboken Police Department, Parking Utility, and/or the Transportation and Parking Department. The measure would also not take effect until June.

Mayor Ravi Bhalla formed an 11-person working group one-month ago shortly before the measure cleared first reading by a 7-2 vote.

Aguiar added that while Presinzano said the working group did not come up until after the ordinance was ready for a vote, he indicated that that was first brought up in January.

“We said there’s a lot of issues with the enforcement of the law because we’ve done enforcement. We’ve done educational campaigns and they’ve proven not as effective as we’d like it to be. And we’ve identified some key features as to why,” Aguiar continued.

“[2nd Ward] Councilwoman [Tiffanie] Fisher, you made a comment that this is not being enforced now. That is completely untrue and you have to know that because you’ve been part of council meeting where we have announced how many summonses have been issued and I think it’s in the area of, it’s close to 200.”

He did agree that it should be enforced more, but the department is short staffed and creating more ordinances around traffic safety laws would not change that.

Additionally, the Mile Square City’s top cop said two people in the audience came up to him and asked if someone could be issued a summons if a deliveristas vest number was given to the police department and that was not possible.

” … If I can’t understand it myself on how this is supposed to be working, how am I supposed to explain that to officers and how they’re gonna apply that in the street?” Aguiar also asked.

Fisher then responded to some of the concerns Aguiar raised.

“This ordinance is about [a] food delivery person on an e-bike, performing their business, irrespective of where it starts or where it’s finished in Hoboken, the jurisdiction, your jurisdiction, do they have a vest on and a registration and if they don’t, they get a violation,” she explained.

Aguiar said that did not answer all of his questions, alluding that it could get complicated if the deliveristas don’t live in Hoboken.

“What does it matter if somebody’s order originated in Union City, came through Hoboken, ran through a sidewalk,” he said, asking for Aguiar to let him finish his thought before interjecting.

“I sat in those meetings and I had some members of your staff say that ‘in your current law for e-bikes on the sidewalk, it’s very difficult to enforce’ because we can’t stop them, because we can’t ask for identification, because of all the things that are prohibiting you from doing your job as a police department. Those are not local issues, those are state issues.”

He further stated that he didn’t care if the deliverista ended up in Hoboken from Timbuktu, when they are within city limits everything humanly possible should be done to protect the children and residents of the Mile Square City.

“Just because you’re speaking louder, it doesn’t make your point more valid is what I’m trying to explain to you … In my experience as law enforcement, throwing anything at the wall and seeing what sticks is not the proper way to apply law,” Aguiar replied.

“This is a good idea but it’s just not executed properly and right, in my opinion … This is gonna be vague. To explain to officers it’s gonna be vague.”

Council President Jen Giattino, who asked how many radar guns the city has (the answer is two) at the beginning of Aguiar’s remarks, noted that at least eight council members voted to reduce local speed limits to 20 miles per hour and that isn’t really enforceable.

“No one had any issue with ‘that’s not enforceable’ so we’re not really sure where the issue is here. And I do think it’s a good start. I would like to see people in yellow vests. I know that’s what the residents want to see, so I am completely supportive of it.”

Presinzano, the prime sponsor who has recently begun delivering for UberEats, said the working group is “stacked one way” and that the process has been thoughtful, comprehensive and involved all stakeholders.

Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour thanked Presinzano for bringing this before the council and adopting some of her feedback, but ultimately would not be supporting the measure due to Aguiar’s comments: “we don’t want to make a false promise.”

“I hope it doesn’t pass, if it does, I hope it gets vetoed and we can focus on the things that work and build from there,” Councilman-at-Large Joe Quintero said.

Ultimately, the measure passed 5-3, with Jabbour, Quintero, and 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen voting no. Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle was absent.

This afternoon, Bike Hoboken also called for the ordinance to be vetoed, agreeing with Aguiar’s assessment of the situation.

“Bike Hoboken wants an equitable, legal, and comprehensive approach to addressing the safety of pedestrians and cyclists alike and believes the best way to do it is to develop policies and laws that work effectively for all parties including pedestrians, merchants, app companies, both car and bicycle delivery drivers and the average citizen using a bicycle around town,” they said in a statement.

Grubhub spokesman Najy Kamal applauded the passage of the measure following an inquiry from HCV.

“We applaud the City Council’s passage of the ordinance and thank Council Member Presinzano for his work on this common sense solution to keep Hoboken streets – and Grubhub delivery partners – safe,” he said.

“Cities, not delivery apps, should administer and enforce city policies, and it is our hope that jurisdictions considering similar legislation follow the Hoboken model.”

“This is the first step in solving a top quality of life issue for residents that has largely been ignored,” Presinzano added this morning.

“As elected officials, our number one responsibility is to ensure the safety of our residents and this legislation hopes to address the unsafe practices of certain E-delivery personnel on our sidewalks and streets.”