NYC pedicab passenger claims menacing driver pictured in The Post sexually harassed her while he was ‘beyond drunk’

A pedicab passenger claims a driver pictured in The Post’s front-page story about the industry’s increasingly rogue behavior in the Big Apple sexually harassed her.

Lydia Rivera shared on social media her own harrowing encounter with the driver on June 25.

“I was like, ‘That’s the same guy I had just posted about a couple of months ago,’” she told The Post. “I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Rivera had been dining outside the Galaxy Diner on West 46th Street when a slimy pedicabbie parked his ride just a few feet away on Ninth Avenue, stumbled over and began aggressively hitting on her. 

“It was very menacing, and his whole approach was very threatening,” Rivera said, adding that the driver was “beyond drunk” and slurring his words. 

“He said something like he wanted to kiss me,” she said.

The unwanted advances caught the attention of two women on the street, who stepped in to shield Rivera from the driver, according to a video of the encounter shared with The Post. 

The women demanded the driver apologize, but instead he shouted insults and cursed at them, the five-minute clip showed. Finally, the wild-eyed hack apologized and drove away. 

“I kind of froze, and these girls took over and rescued me,” she said. “Girls get hit on in New York all the time but he definitely was more aggressive, and a little bit scary.” 

Rivera said she was shocked to see her aggressor being detained by cops in Times Square in The Post’s photograph from October 2022.

Cops on the scene told a Post photographer at the time that the pedicabbie had been busted for driving while intoxicated, although an NYPD spokesperson said they were no arrest records on file.

The distressing experience at Galaxy Diner reaffirmed Rivera’s decision never to ride in a pedicab. 

“I just feel like it’s a reckless drive,” she said. 

An NYPD spokesperson referred a request for comment to a previous statement that it has received complaints about Midtown pedicabs and is focusing on enforcement efforts there, resulting in over 100 pedicabs seized this year.

“This enforcement, which has included working jointly with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, includes inspections of pedicab licenses and registrations,” the statement read.

Additional reporting by Tina Moore