what to know
- Following a series of fires involving faulty electric bike batteries, including a recent fire that claimed four lives, New York City officials announced Sunday that they will receive an emergency $25 million grant from the federal government to fund dozens of charging stations throughout the city.
- Mayor Eric Adams hopes the stations will provide a safer way for delivery drivers, who rely on electric bikes to do their jobs efficiently, to recharge the lithium batteries they use to power their bikes.
- The announcement comes after a lithium-ion battery caught fire engulfing an electric bike shop in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Fire and thick smoke spread to apartments above the store, killing four people and injuring three others, including a responding firefighter.
NEW YORK — Following a series of fires involving faulty electric bike batteries, including a recent fire that claimed four lives, New York City officials announced Sunday that they will receive an emergency $25 million grant from the federal government. to finance dozens of charging stations throughout the city.
Mayor Eric Adams hopes the stations will provide a safer way for delivery drivers, who rely on electric bikes to do their jobs efficiently, to recharge the lithium batteries they use to power their bikes.
“This means that residents will no longer need to charge electric bikes in their apartments, which we find extremely dangerous, particularly when charging overnight,” Adams said at a news conference on Sunday. He was flanked by the two US senators from the state who helped obtain funding from the US Department of Transportation.
The announcement comes after a lithium-ion battery caught fire engulfing an electric bike shop in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Fire and thick smoke spread to apartments above the store, killing four people and injuring three others, including a responding firefighter.
In the days that followed, New York City officials sought the public’s help in cracking down on unsafe e-bike shops, and firefighters issued at least 10 citations to shops for mishandling batteries.
City officials said they had previously fined the store for its electric bike charging practices, though inspectors reportedly did not check to see if the store sold refurbished batteries on a recent visit.
Under the new guidelines, firefighters will be ordered to respond to electric bike battery complaints within 12 hours, instead of the previous policy of three days.
New York City has seen more than 100 fires and 13 deaths this year related to electric bikes, more than double the total number of deaths last year, officials said.
The city has issued nearly 500 citations related to e-bikes, which can result in fines of between $1,000 and $5,000.
Batteries can overheat if they are faulty or incorrectly charged.
Adams had announced in March that the city was working to set up charging stations. The grant would fund an initial 170 charging units at about 50 locations.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, said the charging stations proved to be a “new hope” in preventing “these fires that start with shoddy Chinese-made lithium-ion batteries and chargers.” he said during the press conference.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she and Schumer were working on legislation to set safety standards for batteries.
“If approved,” he said, “batteries manufactured incorrectly would be taken off the market.”
