De Blasio Says He'll Crush Your ATV on Television if You Ride It Through NYC

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NEW YORK CITY, NY — If you ride your dirt bike or ATV through the streets of New York City, it will be taken away from you and crushed on television, Mayor Bill De Blasio said at a Monday press conference.

Both dirt bikes and ATVs are banned in NYC.

Even so, some city residents — NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton labeled them "clowns" and "knuckleheads" at the presser, among other things — drive them around the city each year when the weather warms up, Bratton said, often in large groups.

The small vehicles disrupt traffic and make roads and sidewalks less safe, Bratton said, adding that the NYPD attributed three shootings last year to gunmen riding dirt bikes.

So, in anticipation of this year's riding season, the department is actively searching for and impounding the vehicles, he said.

The NYPD has already seized 312 vehicles so far in 2016, according to Chief Carlos Gomez — double their haul during the first quarter of 2015.

To show they mean business, Bratton and De Blasio said the city intends to publicly destroy the vehicles.

"We're going to crush them on TV to make a point," the mayor said.

The NYPD also asked members of the public to help keep dirt bikes and ATVs off the streets by calling 911 when they spot one of the vehicles, either in action or in storage.