Mayor Adams launches crackdown on unregulated e-bike batteries, a growing fire hazard
March 20, 2023, 1:03 p.m.
Three people have died so far this year from fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, according to the FDNY.
Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a plan to crack down on unregulated e-bike and e-scooter batteries, which in recent years have sparked hundreds of fires across the five boroughs.
E-bikes are popular among delivery workers, but city officials worry about a large market of unregulated batteries that can explode or spark fires when charged inside apartment buildings. Officials and advocates estimate more than 65,000 delivery workers in the city rely on electric-powered bikes and scooters.
“Faulty versions of these e-bikes and e-scooters and illegal, electric mopeds are being leased, rented and sold to New Yorkers,” Adams said during a news conference. “Many of these devices do not meet the basic safety standards and contain uncertified lithium-ion batteries. That’s the heart of this problem.”
The mayor said his new plan, called “Charge safe, Ride safe,” will bring safe e-bike charging and storage stations across the city, including at NYCHA buildings and hubs the city establishes for delivery workers. He said the city will work with Los Deliveristas Unidos, a collective of food delivery workers, to train people on safety measures.
Adams on Monday also signed a package of bills passed by the City Council earlier this month that include a ban on battery devices that fail to meet safety standards from being sold or rented in the city. The legislation also prohibits New Yorkers from repurposing parts in storage batteries for those used to power-e-bikes.
FDNY representatives said lithium-ion batteries have sparked 45 fires so far this year, killing three people and injuring 46. Adams’ announcement comes two days after a man died in a blaze in the Bronx’s Allerton neighborhood, which the FDNY said broke out on the top floor of a six-story building and was caused by one of the batteries.
City officials said explosions of unregulated, unsafe batteries have grown exponentially over the last three years. Lithium-ion batteries caused 220 fires last year, up from 44 fires in 2020 — a five-fold increase, according to FDNY.
Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Workers Justice Project, said e-bikes and e-scooters are necessary for workers “to meet the brutal delivery schedules that they receive from the app delivery industry to be able to travel the long distances and also to be able to do as many deliveries per day so they can earn enough to provide to their families.”