The Adams administration is looking to ban the storage and use of “uncertified” e-bike lithium-ion batteries after a series of deadly fires in buildings across the Big Apple.
The NYPD would enforce penalties against e-bike riders or others found in possession of uncertified batteries, which would be confiscated and disposed of by the Sanitation Department, under proposed new rules.
“Since day one, the Adams administration has made keeping New Yorkers safe our top priority and that includes taking significant steps to crack down on the uncertified e-bike batteries that have sparked multiple deadly fires,” a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said.
“These proposed rules would make it illegal to store an uncertified lithium-ion e-bike battery anywhere in the city.”
Officials said the city has sent letters to delivery companies operating in the city, instructing them to make sure their workers are provided with the proper equipment, including safe, certified e-bike batteries.
The FDNY, which drafted the new rules, cited agency data reporting that fires and fire fatalities linked to storage batteries for e-bikes, e-scooters and other powered mobility devices increased significantly in recent years.
- There were 13 injuries and 23 injuries in 2019 and 2020 from battery fires respectively, with zero deaths.
- But injuries from battery fires more than tripled to 79 in 2021 with four deaths.
- In 2022, there were 147 injuries and 6 deaths from battery fires.
- In 2023, deaths from battery fires tripled to 18 with 150 injuries.
- Last year there were 99 injuries and 6 deaths connected to e-bike battery fires and 29 injuries and one fatality through July of this year.
The City Council and mayor approved a law in 2023 which bars the distribution, sale or lease of a storage battery unless it has been certified by an accredited testing laboratory as meeting safety standards.
The FDNY will hold an Oct. 1 public hearing on the rules, before making revisions or adopting them.
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