New York City Council introduces first round of lithium-ion battery safety legislation
NEW YORK -- The New York City Council introduced new legislation Thursday on e-bike batteries to try to keep New Yorkers safe, but there are questions on how the rules will be enforced.
They've burned down homes and businesses and cost people their lives.
According to the FDNY, lithium-ion batteries caused 220 fires and six deaths in 2022 and more than 20 fires already this year.
Thursday, New York's City Council introduced a first round of legislation to try to solve this crisis.
"This is common sense legislation to prevent fires that are in fact preventable," Councilman Shaun Abreu said.
The measures the council is taking are based around informing the public and restricting the public's ability to assemble and restore batteries that aren't certified and up to code under the new legislation.
One detail that did face opposition from at least one councilmember is that businesses will be given 180 days to sell the unregistered batteries in the meantime.
"They're ticking timebombs. We're giving them 180 days, folks," Councilman Robert Holden said.
And then there's pricing. A new lithium-ion battery for an e-bike can cost hundreds of dollars. A quick search on Craigslist, though, and you can find batteries for only $60.
"The only access that this marginalized group has is to a refurbished battery that may blow up. We need to make sure that we are also closing the gaps on access for this marginalized community that serves our city," Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa said.
The council estimates that there are 65,000 delivery workers in our city, a group largely comprised of immigrants, many of whom do not speak English as their first language.
The first challenge was passing the legislation. The next is making sure the people who need to hear it can understand it.
"The delivery apps -- including Grubhub, DoorDash and others -- that they provide that information to delivery workers so that they know how to safely use batteries," Councilman Oswald Feliz said.
The City Council used an old newsstand as the backdrop for the press conference after the legislation; Mayor Eric Adams has pinpointed it as a potential location for e-bike charging and docking for delivery drivers.
The next set of legislation to come out of the City Council on this topic will be a swap program. If you already own a battery that is not up to their code, you can swap it for one that is.
