Is It Legal to Ride a Motorized Lawn Chair in a Bike Lane in New York?

This is a ridiculous question. But a new viral video does bring up a point. What are these guys doing, and where did they get those contraptions they're riding on?  They seem to be having fun, so it probably doesn't matter.

Bicycling in the City 

Bicycling has been popular around big cities for many decades. More and more commuters continue to get around major metropolitan areas like New York by bike. It has its benefits.

Riding a bike certainly costs far less than owning and operating a motorized vehicle. Plus, you don't have the headaches of finding parking spaces. But sometimes, as we know, cyclists and motor vehicle operators don't really like to share the road with each other. It can get kind of ugly.

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So, the city has city aside some rules.

Is it Legal? 

There are three different kinds of bike lanes that run around New York. Some are physically separated from roads or paths, while others are marked by signs or paint. According to Wikipedia, New York City had around 1,350 miles of bike lanes as of 2019.

FOX 5 says that three men were taped riding what appears to be motorized lawn chairs down a bike lane on Columbus Avenue at W. 86th Street. The middle driver looks like he's wearing a green Luigi hat, which is a reference to Nintendo's Mario Kart. One witness said they saw the three talking to an NYPD officer who seemed to find the trio amusing.

Where could we get one of these?

New York Man Steals Scooter From Walmart and Slowly Rides Off Into the Sunset

Police say a New York man has been charged with grand larceny after they say he took something that didn't belong to him. What was it? Electric mobility scooters are readily available at many area stores for those needing some extra assistance. This can benefit the elderly, those too heavy, or those requiring physical assistance, especially in some of these bigger box stores

But they're not for you to take home.

Grand Theft Auto: Walmart 

WKTV says that a New York state man rode off into the sunset on a scooter belonging to a Walmart in June 2022. Police say they were called to the Walmart location in North Utica after employees said the man rode through the store's parking lot and then off the property. Police say that the 66-year-old suspect has a bit of history in the area, and was familiar with Walmart's loss prevention team.

Authorities did not say how fast the scooter bandit was able to crank one of these suckers up to on the open road. WKTV says one of the officers found the suspect still riding the scooter not far from the vicinity, so he wasn't exactly burning up the road here.