NYPD cracks down on out-of-control, unlawful pedicabs preying on New Yorkers after Post report

The NYPD launched a crackdown on unlawful pedicabs this week, following The Post’s front-page expose on the industry that found out-of-control drivers were terrorizing tourists and locals across Manhattan, haranguing passersby — and even sexually assaulting their own customers.

The NYPD posted on social media about its crackdown Wednesday.

“Our precinct conducted a successful operation today to address the issue of illegal pedicabs operating unsafely in our community,” the Midtown North Precinct wrote Wednesday on X . “

The NYPD has been conducting “focused enforcement” regarding the operation of pedicabs in the city, an NYPD spokeswoman said.

NYC pedicab passenger claims menacing driver pictured in The Post sexually harassed her while he was ‘beyond drunk’

“This operation was part of an ongoing coordinated effort with various city agencies to address complaints made regarding pedicab operators,” the NYPD said in a statement.

Cops seized 52 pedicabs, wrote 56 summonses and made five arrests during the operation in Times Square, Bryant Park and Central Park, according to the NYPD.

Four scofflaw pedicab drivers – Mirshod Toxirov, 30, Akmal Ahmatjonov, 31, Shokhin Norov, 38, and Paul Piga, 45 – were arrested for having forged registration stickers on their bikes.

Ramazan Kucuk, 37, was also cuffed for being an “aggravated unlicensed operator.”

Kucuk was arrested in front of 20 Rockefeller Center, while the rest were caught in Central Park.

Out-of-control NYC pedicab drivers terrorize tourists, locals — and even sexually assault their own customers: ‘They’re like piranhas’

Kucuk was previously arrested in July 2017 in Midtown for operating a pedicab with a suspended license, cops said.

Post-pandemic, the city has seen a sharp increase in counterfeit Department of Consumer and Worker Protection licenses and registration plates required for pedicabs to legally operate in the city, according to industry sources.

One fleet operator estimated that 60% of pedicab drivers, or roughly 1,500 hacks, are riding around with fake licenses.

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“They’re like piranhas just trying to get paid — and they prey on the tourists and on the guests and on the kids,” Ralph Mendez, a doorman at the Sheraton Hotel on Seventh Avenue near Times Square, told The Post.

“They’re nice because they want something,” he added. “As soon, as you tell them you don’t want it, they just absolutely flip on you.”

In one shocking case on Aug. 4, a fun night out at Midtown club spiraled into a nightmare for two Upper East Side women — after a pedicab driver badgered them to accept a “free ride” home until they agreed.

As soon as they entered the pedicab, the pervert jumped into the backseat and groped both women, one of the terrified victims told The Post this week.

“It was really convenient for him to be in front of a club at 3:30 a.m., offering rides home to girls who have been drinking,” said a 22-year-old victim, who reported the incident to cops. “I got the feeling that he habitually does that.’”

Additional reporting by Tina Moore.

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