New York City rolls out new e-bike charging stations for delivery workers
EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- New York City's Department of Transportation is unveiling the nation's first public e-bike charging sites for delivery workers.
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez was joined by FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh and other city officials in the East Village Thursday to reveal the first of five new public e-battery charging locations.
The new six-month pilot program is part of Mayor Eric Adams' "Charge Safe, Ride Safe" initiative, which also includes battery-swapping networks and secure bike parking docks.
"This pilot program we're kicking off today will give delivery workers the ability to access safe, accessible, outdoor battery-charging that will undoubtedly save lives, and we're eager to expand this pilot even further," Adams said.
New York City is among the first major cities in the United States to launch a public e-bike charging pilot program.
The first charging station is located in Cooper Square in Manhattan's East Village.
Adams also announced four other outdoor charging sites across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Those locations include the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Essex Market in the Lower East Side, Plaza De Las Americas in Washington Heights, and Willoughby and Jay Streets in Downtown Brooklyn.
The charging sites will be installed and activated in the coming weeks.
The new charging sites come amid ongoing concerns over fires sparked by illegal e-batteries.
Just this past Friday, a fire in Harlem killed one and injured 17 others.
That's the first fatality this year, but last year, a total of 268 fires were caused by such batteries, injuring 150 and killing 18.
William Medina is the leader of Los Deliveristas Unidos, which advocates for the city's tens of thousands of delivery workers.
"Delivery apps, they push workers to move in a very far distance so that's why they need the electric bicycles," Medina said.
Rodriguez says that the pilot will offer "convenient and safe charging options at public locations so that delivery workers do not have to charge their devices at home."
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