With nicer weather fast approaching, the city of Albany is hoping to halt the return of illegal ATVs and dirt bikes to city streets. The effort comes days after riders terrorized firefighters in Arbor Hill.
For the past several summers, cities across the Northeast have seen a steady increase in the number of ATVs and dirt bikes traveling through streets, parks and playgrounds. Mayor Kathy Sheehan says the fad has swept through Albany, with disastrous results.
"We see people coming into our community from outside of the city of Albany, unloading their ATVs and dirt bikes, and treating the city of Albany as if it is some sort of playground. It is simply unacceptable," Sheehan said. "We saw videos last year of dirt bikes and ATVs driving along sidewalks in front of Albany High School, we've seen them drive through city parks, putting young children and their parents in danger. We've seen these vehicles hit buses and police officers. We've seen them aggressively circle firetrucks and other public safety vehicles.”
Sheehan spoke to reporters in the parking lot outside the Albany Fire Department Arbor Hill House on North Manning Boulevard, where she was joined by other officials including Fire Chief Joe Gregory. He says the rogue riders wreaked havoc there last Friday.
"Not only were they impeding the apparatus as they were entering and exiting the firehouses, but they were also kind of targeting our firefighters as they were trying to safely back our apparatus into quarters," Gregory said. "That's a process that we have. And driving directly at firefighters that are outside of the rig is a major safety concern for us."
Last April, Sheehan signed legislation banning ATVs and dirt bikes from city streets and parks. It now costs the owner of any confiscated vehicle $3000 to get it back, along with a $650 fine that has to be paid whether a vehicle was redeemed or not.
Police Chief Eric Hawkins says riders use social media to organize trips through Albany.
"They post these videos, we have detectives that for the most part every single day, they're scouring social media, to see if they can identify who these people are," Hawkins said. "But moreover, we have residents in our community who have information via social media, and so we're encouraging them up either through Crimestoppers or through the tip line, to let us know if they have that sort of information so that they can either provide it to us or give us the information of where we can find it, because that in a lot of cases has helped us to identify some of these individuals."
Hawkins says the city has now rolled out a dedicated tip line to report sightings of illegal activity or locations where illegal vehicles are being stored. "...that number is 518-462-1818. 518-462-1818."
Sheehan says don't hesitate to call 9-1-1. "Help us to end this scourge that is disproportionately impacting this city. And and help us to ensure that we're keeping our community safe," said Sheehan.
Hawkins says authorities are also working with gas stations, where clerks can alert police while riders are fueling up. "And that way we can safely intervene and safely intercede with this and not have this evolve into a pursuit through our city," said Hawkins.
Hawkins warns the riders have no regard for the safety of motorists or pedestrians.
"So in the coming months, we're hopeful that we can get this information from our residents in the city," Hawkins said. "We're going to continue to proactively and innovatively address this issue. And we're looking to have a safer city in terms of the operations of these motorbikes in our city this summer."
