Getting a charge out of bicycles

Pol: Legalize electrics

A Brooklyn lawmaker is rolling out a bill to legalize electric bikes, which have long been the bane of pedestrians in the Big Apple.

Assemblyman Nick Perry (D-East Flatbush) says the gadgets — which can zip along at up to 20 mph — should be allowed to hit the streets if they follow the same rules as nonmotorized bikes.

“They weigh as much as any other bicycle, look almost identical to your average commuter bike and cannot accelerate at a pace that makes them any less safe than your average bike,” he said Friday, which was National Bike to Work Day.

“People who choose to bicycle to work and save money need an assist. When they get older, they can use these,” he said, adding that the bikes also help deliverers.

The e-bikes are popular worldwide — accounting for 1 in 3 bicycles sold in the Netherlands — and there’s no reason they can’t work in New York, Perry insisted.

Under the bill, no licenses would be required to drive the gadgets, which are mostly made in China and come with a lithium-ion battery.

Bicyclists said they would tolerate e-bikes if users follow the rules, including avoiding driving on sidewalks and “salmoning” the wrong way up streets.

“It’d be good for the delivery guys — you’d have to be carved out of steel to do an eight-hour shift on a bike,” said Roy Reiss, 37, who was cycling in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, on Friday. “The main annoyance is seeing them hop on the sidewalk to weave through traffic.”

A 33-year-old Brooklyn deliveryman named Carlos cheered the bill, saying it will make life easier for hardworking guys like himself.

“I need that sometimes,” he said. “Sometimes I have to deliver food far away,” he said. “With a regular bike, customers call and say, ‘Where’s my food?’ ”

He added, “Sometimes the police give tickets. It’s $500 or $600.”

But it’s unclear whether the Legislature has support from Mayor de Blasio — or whether the bill will pass without city approval.

The “NYPD and DOT are reviewing the legislation with an eye toward safety and enforceability,” said de Blasio spokesman Ben Sarle.

“We need to clean up outdated and unfair laws that make it harder for New Yorkers to cycle to work,” Perry said in an op-ed for Crain’s.

The bill, which was introduced Monday, does not address mopeds and scooters.