Scooter jerks break road rules in front of NYPD at safe streets press conference

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Not so fast.

New York City scooter scofflaws flaunted road rules just feet from an NYPD press conference about cracking down on the two-wheelers Thursday — but officers dragged their feet on ticketing them.

Several drivers on e-scooters were seen blowing through red lights — some with fake license plates or none at all — near the intersection of Yellowstone and Queens boulevards in Forest Hills, where the NYPD and the DOT held a joint press conference about beefing up enforcement in the name of safe streets.

As DOT assistant chief Kim Wiley-Schwartz spoke at a podium next to several police officers, a Chinese food delivery guy driving an e-scooter with a fake New York state license plate zipped by — just 8 feet from the press conference, video shot by the Post shows.

“It’s a national trend but people have gotten into poor driving behavior with more speeding and reckless driving,” Kim Wiley-Schwartz, DOT Assistant Commissioner Chief of Transportation —  said as the rule breaker on wheels rolls up.

The sighting prompted a Post reporter to point out the well-timed sighting, saying, “That’s a fake plate!”

But police took no action — and Wiley-Schwartz plowed through her speech without acknowledging the illegal driver.

The same scooter jerk was later spotted whizzing through a red light — and within 10 minutes, six more scooter drivers were seen without plates near the intersection. Three of them were seen zooming the wrong way down bike lanes and two were spotted running red lights.

After a speech about the need to step up enforcement on scooter drivers and others who break road rules, DOT Chief of Transportation Kim Royster was asked by the Post why officers didn’t stop the guy with the fake plate.

“We have to make sure our enforcement is equitable,” she said.

Royster had just stressed the dangers of the illegal two-wheelers, saying, “These scooters are used to facilitate criminal acts. Two illegal devices were used as getaway vehicles recently in the 115 Precinct, used in a horrible attack where 10 people were shot. A 4-year-old was recently hit in Flushing Meadows Park by one of these electric devices.”

The Chinese food delivery driver later told the Post he bought the illegal ride with the fake plate.

“I want[ed] this bike for the plate. It comes with the bike. It cost me $200,” he said.

During the press conference, officials also stressed an effort to increase education surrounding e-scooters and other micro-mobility vehicles as part of the city’s “Vision Zero” safe streets initiative.

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