New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) have seized over 100,000 illegal “ghost vehicles” — cars that are virtually untraceable due to forged or altered license plates — and illegal and unregistered motorized scooters, bikes, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) since the start of the Adams administration in 2022, improving quality-of-life conditions for millions of New Yorkers. To celebrate this milestone, several hundred illegal two-wheeled vehicles are being sent to a DSNY facility to be safely destroyed and disposed of, ensuring they are never able to return to a New York City street or be used in a crime.
“When it comes to public safety, we’re not just enforcing the law — we’re literally crushing it,” said Mayor Adams. “Illegal mopeds and scooters have terrorized pedestrians, and have been used in robberies, shootings, and other crimes. That’s why we’re taking bold action — crushing these illegal vehicles so they can never terrorize a New Yorker again. We’ve already removed more than 100,000 of these illegal vehicles from our streets in the last three years, and we’re making it clear: if you drive an illegal vehicle in this city, you will face the consequences — and so will your ride.”
“Illegal mopeds and ghost cars aren’t just a quality-of-life issue — they’re a public safety threat. They’re unregistered, untraceable, and often used to evade police or enable other crimes,” said NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “We’ve taken more than 100,000 of these vehicles off the streets, and today we’re making sure hundreds of them are never coming back. This is about more than enforcement — it’s about impact. Robberies and grand larcenies involving mopeds have dropped significantly, and that’s thanks to the tireless work of the women and men of the NYPD, and Mayor Adams’ leadership in making this city safer.”
