Two months after the city approved sidewalk chargers for e-bike batteries, the city has opened up applications for building owners wishing to participate in the program.
“As more and more New Yorkers turn to e-bikes as a safe, affordable and convenient way to get around, we need to do our part to ensure charging is safe and accessible,” Ydanis Rodriguez, the city’s transportation commissioner, said in a statement Monday.
The program will allow building owners — or tenants with a landlord’s permission — to apply to install an FDNY charging cabinet capable of recharging UL-certified e-bike batteries.
The refrigerator-sized devices allow e-bike riders to charge or swap their batteries without needing to bring them inside, an effort to quash home fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries.
Each cabinet will need to be approved by the FDNY and will need to have a fire suppression system, ventilation, temperature control, and automatic shutoff if a battery is overheating.
Lithium-ion batteries have caused more than 900 fires since 2019, injuring more than 500 people and killing nearly three dozen, according to the FDNY.
A spokesman for the NYC DOT said New Yorkers interested in applying for a cabinet should email the department after reviewing the city’s guidelines.
