Good morning. It's Wednesday. Today we'll get a personal look at Mayor Eric Adams's trip to Israel. We'll also preview a new law that will make New York the first city in the nation to regulate e-bikes. |
 | | Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times |
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Visiting Israel is a rite of passage for the mayor of New York City, whose Jewish population is second only to Israel's. Mayor Eric Adams has spent the last couple of days there. He had been there twice before, but this was his first trip as mayor. It was also the first trip there for our City Hall bureau chief, Emma G. Fitzsimmons. I asked her about her impressions of the trip. Here is what she said: |
A few moments have stood out. When we visited the Western Wall, I asked Adams what being in that place meant to him. He had just visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as well and said that he was "extremely emotional." He said he was thinking of his mother, Dorothy, who died in 2021, and whom he spoke about tearfully when he was campaigning that year. |
"This is a place she always wanted to come to," he told me. "I wanted to have a special thought as I stood over the stone where Jesus was laid, and I said a remembrance of her." |
Religion is important to Adams, and so are New York City's religious voters. This is an important trip for him. Adams is Christian and talks about his faith and how it shapes his views. Many of his voters are religious, and he has visited Black churches when he felt he was under attack. Adams also has close relationships with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that go back to when he was a state senator and then the Brooklyn borough president, and Orthodox voters were a key part of his winning coalition during the 2021 mayoral primary. This trip could help him with Jewish voters when he runs for re-election in 2025. |
Men and women enter separate areas to visit the wall, so I had to stand on a bench and peek over a fence to watch Adams place his hands on it. So did our photographer, Avishag Shaar-Yashuv. I couldn't get close enough to see the guest book, but a local news outlet reported that Adams wrote these words in it: "This wall of prayer is a symbol of hope." |
We heard him speak about the importance of combating antisemitism and about how seeing Christian, Muslim and Jewish worshipers in Jerusalem was a reminder that "we must coexist together." And we watched as he left a note in the Western Wall, surrounded by a huge crowd of photographers. With all the commotion, people saw Adams and his entourage and asked who he was. Many took selfies with him. It was hot, very hot — above 90 degrees. |
 | | Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times |
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Adams also visited Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, and laid a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance. Afterward, he said he was struck by those who allowed the Holocaust to happen by "silently standing by." "This is a moment of reflection, it's a moment of renewal, it's a moment of commitment to not only saying 'never again,' but living 'never again,'" he said. |
Adams was more private about his meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders of protests against the government, and reporters were not allowed in. He gave us a summary of the meetings, and our usually expressive mayor tried unusually hard not to give an opinion about how Netanyahu's government has limited the power of the judiciary — or about the widespread pro-democracy protests that have followed. |
"I listened," the mayor said. "I didn't weigh in." |
The mayor, who is mostly vegan, was also focused on food during the trip. |
That was one topic he covered with Netanyahu, who sold him on vegan honey that doesn't come from bees. Adams said it was delicious. |
Enjoy a sunny day with highs in the upper 70s. The night will be cloudy with a chance of showers after 2 a.m. and lows in the mid-60s. |
In effect until Sept. 4 (Labor Day). |
 | | Karsten Moran for The New York Times |
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The new law to regulate e-bikes |
 | | José A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York Times |
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In the last couple of years, New York Today has followed the growing risk of battery fires — fires caused by lithium-ion batteries that power e-bikes and scooters. At least 14 people have died in battery fires this year, and 93 have been injured. In June, four people died in a fire in a bike shop on Madison Street near the Manhattan Bridge in Lower Manhattan. In February, some 50 batteries were found inside a rowhouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn. |
The law, known as Local Law 39, will make New York the first city in the United States to attempt to regulate the safety of micro-mobility devices. |
It is not a ban on e-bikes and e-scooters on city streets, and people using uncertified devices will not be given violations after the law takes effect on Sept. 16. |
Mayor Eric Adams and other city officials have said they recognize that many commuters and delivery workers rely on e-mobility devices. "Legal electric micro-mobility is a critical part of a safe, equitable and sustainable transportation landscape," Ydanis Rodriguez, the city's transportation commissioner, said when the new law was approved in March along with other safety measures for e-bikes. |
My colleague Winnie Hu says there has been confusion about the new law because building owners and landlords have increasingly banned e-bikes and e-scooters. She says the new law will prohibit the sale, lease or rental of e-bikes and e-scooters that do not satisfy recognized industry safety standards. Batteries that do not meet the same standards are similarly affected by the law, which will be enforced by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. |
The agency's inspectors will also begin issuing violations to stores and online retailers that sell, lease or rent uncertified devices. Manufacturers involved in direct sales also face violation notices, as do resellers in marketplaces like Craigslist. |
Violations can lead to fines of as much as $1,000 for each type of uncertified device that is cited. The new law does not cover uncertified e-bikes or e-scooters that have already been sold, leased or rented. Nor does it apply to devices that have been brought into the city after being bought or leased elsewhere. |
I had a new car and planned to put the plates on while I waited with it during alternate-side parking hours. |
I needed a Phillips-head screwdriver, but I was using my kid's old Swiss Army knife and it was slow going. |
Before starting on the rear plate, I stepped out of the way so a big S.U.V. with a few guys in it could pull in behind me. |
Turning to get back to work with my trusty knife, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the driver of the S.U.V. He had a power drill. Within a minute, he had put four screws in, and the plate was secure. |
Then he then got back in his car and, within minutes, was gone. |
Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B. |
| Ashley Shannon Wu and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. |
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