Property Owners and Tenants May Now Apply for Permission to Install E-Bike Battery Charging Cabinets on Sidewalks

Battery swapping cabinets at Cooper Square as a part of DOT’s 2024 E-Bike Charging Pilot Program. Photo by NYCDOT

NYC DOT Publishes New Guide to Explain the Application Process

Property owners and tenants with property owner approval can apply to install e-bike battery swapping and charging cabinets on sidewalks within the public right-of-way in front of their properties. Applications are now open following the adoption of rules by NYC DOT.

The measure is designed to reduce apartment fires by moving more battery charging and storage to safe, Fire Department New York (FDNY) approved cabinets on sidewalks. The agency also published a step-by-step guide with information on the process to apply for e-bike battery swapping and charging cabinets on public sidewalks. The effort builds on the success of last year’s pilot program that reduced e-battery charging in apartments by 35 percent among pilot program participants.  

Under the rules, an e-bike battery swapping and charging cabinet may be installed outdoors and adjacent to buildings with ground floor commercial and community facility uses and residential buildings with five or more dwelling units through a revocable consent. 

A revocable consent is the grant of a right to an individual or organization to construct and maintain certain structures on, over, or under the inalienable property (streets and sidewalks) of the City of New York. Each e-bike battery swapping and charging cabinet will need to comply with the siting requirements for revocable consents, including clear path requirements to make sure there is space for the comfortable movement of pedestrians, and minimum clearance requirements from existing streetscape elements, such as subway entrances and bus stops. Additionally, each cabinet will need to comply with new size and installation requirements.

NYC DOT published Sidewalk E-Bike Battery Swapping and Charging Cabinets 101 to provide property owners and tenants with an overview of how they can apply for a revocable consent from NYC DOT for a charging cabinet. The guide explains the requirements for eligibility and site design, while also detailing the approval process.

NYC DOT will review applications through the revocable consent process and will coordinate closely with FDNY, which will conduct site inspections prior to installation. All e-bike battery swapping and charging cabinet models will require approval by FDNY’s Technology Management unit. The New York City Department of Buildings will be responsible for issuing electrical permits for cabinet installation.  

In recent years, use of micromobility devices, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, has dramatically increased, offering affordable and convenient options for a range of New Yorkers, from families to delivery cyclists. This includes e-bikes and illegal e-mopeds that use low-quality and uncertified lithium-ion batteries. The proliferation of these low-quality batteries combined with unsafe charging practices has contributed to an increase in fires started by lithium-ion batteries, which are now a leading cause of fires and fire deaths in New York City.

Electric micromobility device battery swapping and charging cabinets provide a safer way for e-bike users to charge and access Underwriters Laboratories (UL)-certified batteries that are designed to minimize fire risk. Batteries used in battery swapping systems are owned, digitally monitored, and inspected by battery swapping companies, further reducing risks because companies can proactively identify damaged batteries and remove them from circulation. 

Charge Safe, Ride Safe.

In addition to public e-bike charging initiatives, Charge Safe, Ride Safe Action Plan is focused on building a safe, welcoming environment for e-bike riders citywide. To promote the safe use of e-bikes and reduce risk of deadly e-bike fires, often caused by uncertified batteries, NYC DOT has also begun building wider bike lanes and launched an e-bike trade-in program. Eligible delivery workers are able to trade-in their substandard e-bike or non-street legal moped for a safer UL-certified e-bike with a spare UL-certified battery.

Additionally, the FDNY launched a $1 million public education and awareness campaign this summer on the dangers of unsafe lithium-ion batteries, following data showing that 59 percent of 2023’s lithium-ion battery fires started when those batteries were not charging.

Safe Charging Accelerator.

Through the New York City Safe Charging Accelerator, the city also convened a working group consisting of representatives from tech companies, real estate stakeholders, and municipal experts focused on transportation and fire safety. The group is tasked with developing recommendations on how to update city rules and processes to increase adoption of safe charging cabinets within buildings.