2
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MAY 3, 2020
Scoot!
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
What the dock!?
City transportation gurus served Brooklyn’s
fi rst docked e-scooter sharing company
White Fox Scooters with a cease and desist
letter on April 23, claiming that the out-ofstate
company illegally set up shop in the
borough when city law does not yet allow for
e-scooter sharing services.
Senior offi cials with the Department of
Transportation sent a letter to the New Jersey
based fi rm’s founder and chief executive
offi cer Siddharth Saxena, ordering him to
immediately remove the battery-powered
two-wheelers and their docking station at
the William Vale hotel in Williamsburg —
or else!
“It has been brought to our attention
that White Fox Scooters, Inc. or your agents
have commenced scooter share operation
in the City of New York. Please be advised
that electric scooters are illegal in New York
City,” wrote DOT Assistant Commissioner
Michelle Craven in the letter, obtained by
Brooklyn Paper. “Accordingly, you are
hereby directed immediately to cease and
desist from any such electric scooter share
operations.”
The state legalized the electric stand up
scooters earlier this month, but the City
Council still has to make them legal on a city
level, according to DOT offi cials.
A spokesman for DOT did not say whether
White Fox faces any fi nes or other penalties
for their Kings County incursion.
When reached for comment, Saxena was
disappointed that his company’s venture
across the Hudson was stymied by red tape
after less than 10 days in operation, saying
he thought his company was in the clear by
only allowing the scooters to go from dock to
dock, with all stations on private property
like hotels and residential buildings and not
on public streets.
“It’s a bummer,” Saxena said. “It was
all confusing on our end because our legal
counsel said we were good to go.”
The entrepreneur said he will remove
the four scooters and the dock his company
installed at the luxe hotel on April 14 but
said that he will work with the authorities to
return as soon as it’s legal.
“We’ll obviously be completely compliant
with them,” he said.
Saxena also abandoned his plans to set up
a second outpost at the Union Hotel in Gowanus
this week, but he will try to get private
partners to sign on to hosting his scooter
docks in the future while he waits for city
lawmakers to ratify Albany’s legislation.
“We may even sign on some private partners
in the interim,” he said.
City sends cease and desist to scooter
share company in Williamsburg
The city has told scooter sharing company White Fox that it must halt operation. White Fox
2020
718.634.1500
nysilvergull.com
718.634.2500
nybreezypoint.com
/nysilvergull.com
/nybreezypoint.com