A new bill would ban pedicabs from Broadway. Some drivers say it misses the point.

A new bill aims to prevent pedicab drivers from stopping within 50 feet of Broadway theaters.

New York City Councilmembers Keith Powers, Erik Bottcher and Chris Banks introduced the measure in response to complaints from constituents about noise and crowding. The bill would also require the Department of Transportation to post signs indicating which parts of the neighborhood are “pedicab restricted zones.”

The pedicabs are popular with tourists and typically blare songs like “Empire State of Mind” while pedaling patrons around in open-air tricycles.

Kenneth Winter, the communications chair and co-founder of New York Pedicab Alliance, a 220-member organization representing pedicab drivers, agreed that there are currently many issues with New York City’s fleet of pedicabs including loud music, aggressive sales tactics and not clearly posting prices.

However, he said the new bill “ just doesn't make sense” as it would only serve to take income from those operating in good faith, and not the roughly “90% of the pedicabs that are not licensed at the moment” and causing problems.

To operate in New York City, pedicab drivers are required to have a pedicab license, in addition to a driver's license, a registration plate issued by the Department of Worker and Consumer Protection and liability insurance.

Powers, whose district includes Midtown and parts of Manhattan's East Side, said the bill was inspired by “New Yorkers complaining about hearing noisy pedicabs outside the theater when they were enjoying a show” and his own experience of hearing loud music outside the theater.

“Everyone is trying to boost Broadway, get people back into the city, get people going back to see shows, and we want to make sure that experience is across the board an enjoyable one,” Powers said.

Winter, with the Pedicab Alliance, said the city is enabling the situation through ineffective and inadequate enforcement strategies, including issuing pedicab licenses without background checks and not prosecuting those operating without licenses or in violation of existing laws.

“It's just a crazy mess that the city actually doesn't really care about at all,” Winter said. “I think [the bill sponsors are] just trying to look good to the Broadway owners.”

Jason Laks, the president of the Broadway League, an industry group representing theater owners, said the “proliferation of pedicabs in New York City has created significant challenges for Broadway audiences, theater workers and law enforcement."

"The Broadway League fully supports efforts to establish stronger regulations that ensure a safer, more accessible environment for all who work in and attend our theaters," Laks said.

Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, said the group is “excited that there’s some attention from the City Council to make sure that everyone on Broadway has a better experience.”

The Times Square Alliance has also noticed a growing “rogue group of operators” who are unlicensed and uninsured but lease their pedicabs to “unsuspecting people,” he said.

Some pedicab operators have been accused of illegally operating the pedicabs, harassing tourists and deliberately deceiving people about their prices. In December, the NYPD seized dozens of pedicabs it said were operating illegally in Midtown.

Harris said he believes the bill is a first step in “holding those unscrupulous operators accountable” but “is not a cure-all.”

The bill is still in committee and a hearing has not yet been scheduled.