Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces Finalized E-bike Trade-In Program to Keep New Yorkers Safe From Lithium-Ion Battery Fires

October 23, 2024

Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez, Department of Transportation: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Ydanis Rodriguez and I'm the commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation. It is my honor to join Mayor Eric Adams, Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, and everyone else here, including the great Councilmember Rivera and the advocates at Cooper Square, one of the locations for our public e-battery charging pilots with delivery workers. 

Today we are here to discuss another important way we are combating e-battery fires, enhancing traffic safety and supporting safe, sustainable travel options. Delivery workers are essential workers. They are critical to our economy's success and to so many New Yorkers and local businesses who rely on them every day. They deserve to be able to do their jobs safely, and we are here together with this group of workers that they are worried about using uncertified equipment. 

We know that e-battery fires don't just impact delivery workers. Though e-battery fires travel quickly, spreading from apartment to apartment, to building to building, so when we support safe e-battery charging, we support the safety of all New Yorkers. That's why we are here to announce that we have finalized rules at DOT for a new e-bike trade-in program to delivery workers using uncertified equipment. 

When the program will be launched in early 2025, delivery workers will be able to apply online to trade in uncertified e-bikes and their batteries, or illegal mopeds for a UL certified bike and two UL certified batteries. Delivery workers will have to show proof that they live in the City of New York, that they work as delivery workers, and that they are at least 18 years old. They must trade in equipment in operating condition. We will be surveying workers who participate in the program to continue learning about charging practices, delivery patterns, and other safety challenges, and we look forward to learning more. 

Through the Adams administration's Charge Safe Ride Safe Action Plan, we have seen promising trends in reducing fire deaths, and we will hear from the Fire Department very soon. We will continue working to combat these strategies. At New York City DOT, we are also working to expand access to public e-battery charging, like the equipment you see next to us today, to support safe outdoor charging options. 

And we are working to build wider bike lanes, which can provide more comfortable accommodation for cyclists traveling at different speeds, not only those who use regular bikes, but also those who use pedal-assisted bikes to also increase the level of delivery to their customers. This year, we are delivering wider bike lanes on 2nd Avenue, 6th Avenue, 7th Avenue, 10th Avenue, and on crosstown routes at 38th Street and 39th Street, our busiest crosstown streets in the city. 

I'd like to thank Councilmember Rivera and the other members of the Council for their partnership, and also thanks Councilmember Keith Powers, who couldn't be here, who also passed the legislation, the legislation that developed this trade-in program, as well as the talented members of the DOT team who made this possible, including Will Carey, Irene Figueroa-Ortiz, Patrick Smith, Ryan Wanttaja, Naomi Silkowitz, and others. One minute in Español. 

Vamos a escuchar del alcalde Eric Adams en este momento. Nosotros estamos anunciando un plan donde, a principios del año que viene, estaremos proveyendo cientos de bicicletas eléctricas con su batería a aquellos trabajadores que tengan baterías con bicicleta que están usadas, pero que estén en buenas condiciones. Esa es la prioridad del alcalde, de los diferentes comisionados de los bomberos, de los concejales Rivera, Powers y otros. Están trabajando para nosotros ayudar a esas hermanas y hermanos trabajadores deliveristas que proveen un servicio esencial para proveerlo de libre y seguir moviendo la ciudad de Nueva York.

Translation: We're going to hear from Mayor Eric Adams right now. We are announcing a plan where, at the beginning of next year, we will be providing hundreds of electric bicycles with their batteries to those workers who have used bicycles with batteries that are in good condition. This is the priority of the mayor, the various commissioners of the fire department, and council members Rivera, Powers, and others. They are working to help our sisters and brothers delivery workers who provide an essential service to keep the city of New York moving.

With that, now you have Mayor Eric Adams. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, commissioner. And I really thank the deliveristas who have partnered with us on this initiative throughout DOT, our councilperson, particularly Councilwoman Rivera, and the entire team. 

When we said safety, we were not only talking about dealing with gun violence, we were talking about making our streets safe, and making the storage of delivery bikes and e-scooters to be safe at the same time. And it's more than just crime stats, it includes what we are here today to talk about this initiative on lithium ion batteries. Hats off to FDNY, former Commissioner Kavanagh, and now our current Commissioner Tucker, who's continuing this pursuit of making sure that lithium ion batteries are safe to use, and safe for those who are using them to carry out their daily business functions. 

So today, we're supercharging our safety efforts to get unsafe e-bikes and e-scooters and lithium ion batteries off our streets by announcing the final rules, as the commissioner stated, the final rules to our e-bike trading program, America's first municipal trading pilot program. And we are happy that eligible delivery workers can now trade dangerous and unsafe e-bikes, mopeds, and batteries for safer, legal, and certified devices, and they can do so for that New York City, best word, for free. They can do it for free. These delivery workers can now trade them in and replace unsafe e-bikes and batteries. 

New Yorkers deserve access to safe devices and batteries, and we are getting them to them. And that's how we tackle safety, at the same time tackling affordability. And we cannot do this without our partners, so again, Councilman Powers for passing this legislation, and Councilwoman Rivera and her team at the City Council. This is how government, industry worked together to ensure that we have operability, but safety at the same time. 

And they are a convenient, low-cost replacement, cost transportation option that these scooters provide, and we want to encourage people to use those cost transportation options, but we want them to do it safe. And they are essential for tens of thousands of New Yorkers who are already living, making deliveries like our deliveristas, but a faulty version of these e-bikes and scooters and e-scooters and illegal electric mopeds are being leased, rented, and sold to New Yorkers. And many of these devices do not meet safety standards and contain uncertified lithium-ion batteries. 

And too often people store these batteries near their place of exit, in their homes, in their bedrooms. We've witnessed over and over again the fire, the explosion that's associated with these illegal batteries, and it takes lives. And there's been great results based on our educational campaign and others with FDNY and DOT that allowed us to deal with the increased numbers we've witnessed over the years on these deaths and major injuries that FDNY commissioner will go over. 

Our e-bike trading program will save lives. It will save lives and protect the thousands of workers who rely on e-bikes for their livelihoods. We're doing everything in our power to stop these deadly fires and make safe lithium-ion batteries more affordable. It is why we released our Charge Safe, Ride Safe plan to help New Yorkers use e-bikes and scooters safely. It's why we banned the sale of uncertified e-vehicles and refurbished lithium-ion batteries. And it is why we launched a massive public awareness campaign to inform New Yorkers about the dangers of unsafe batteries. And earlier this year we announced the New York City Safe Charging Accelerator, making it easier and faster for property owners to install public battery charging and swapping cabinets on sidewalks in front of their buildings. 

And last year, fire caused by lithium-ion batteries were among the leading causes of fire-related death and injury. And I'm proud to announce that our efforts so far are getting results. And this time last year, New York City had 14 deaths from lithium-ion battery-related fires. Thus far this year, we have only four deaths. Four too many, but clearly we're moving in the right direction. We are making progress. We will continue to make progress as long as we coordinate with our partners to move in the right direction. 

Again, I want to thank all our partners for the successful operation and the rollout of this unprecedented policy, first in the nation to do so, to ensure our riders are safe, homeowners are safe, the bikes are safe, and we can continue to use the e-mobility transportation methods to deal with congestion in our city. Thank you very much.

Commissioner Rodríguez: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Now let's see our great partners in this effort and a great leader in the City of New York, Commissioner Tucker.

Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker: Thank you, commissioner. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Councilwoman Rivera, thank you to the members of the Council. Good afternoon on this gorgeous day in New York City, also during Fire Prevention Month. 

Our city and the FDNY in particular has been dealing with lithium-ion batteries and its crisis for more than three years. We are making progress, as the mayor said, but there's always more work to be done. This is an issue that is not going away. Our response at the FDNY is focused on three areas, education, enforcement, and advocacy. We've been educating New Yorkers about best practices for these devices. We've been visiting schools and community groups, as well as a relentless PSA program. We will not stop until everyone hears us. 

We have conducted hundreds of proactive safety inspections of businesses who sell these devices and have issued thousands of dollars in fines, and we've even made some arrests. Working together, FDNY is leading the nation on this important issue by investing in innovative programs like our highly successful battery charging cabinet program to help New Yorkers stay safe. 

I look forward to the launch of this e-bike trade-in program as another way that we are protecting the public, which includes the brave men and women of the FDNY who rush towards danger when these fires erupt. Make no mistake about it, e-bikes are fun and an easy way to get around this city, but uncertified and malfunctioning batteries are a ticking time bomb. They put you in danger, they put your neighbors in danger, and they put FDNY members in danger. Thank you.

Commissioner Rodríguez: Thank you, commissioner. Now let's hear from another person who had the opportunity to serve together. We both were at the City Council. Councilmember Rivera.

City Councilmember Carlina Rivera: Hello everyone, good afternoon. I just want to say welcome. Welcome to the Second Council District. I know we've been here before because this location is so important. 

This is a historic day, this is a historic program. We are hoping that what we are doing here in New York City and this program will be replicated at the federal level at some point. We do need that sort of collaboration. But until then, New York City will continue to be the model and of course the birthplace of a movement for our delivery workers and ensuring that they have better working conditions and continue to be supported as they endure one of the most challenging jobs in the city. 

And I want to thank Worker's Justice Project and Ligia. We have been on this journey for a while now together. And you only have to be in this district for a little while to see how crowded the bike lanes are. I take a bike almost every single day and I am so thankful and grateful to the commissioner because he has stepped up really in every single ask that we have approached him with in terms of how to create better infrastructure in this neighborhood which sees so many deliveries daily. 

E-bikes are a growing part of our transportation system, connecting commuters from greater distances, enabling more sustainable modes of transportation and of course increasing opportunities for people with disabilities. In the delivery sector especially, we see the rise in importance of e-bikes for home delivery. It's food, it's medicine, it's everyday items that you rely on to be brought directly to your door. And it's critical that the city work closely with delivery workers to understand the breadth of needs to best support this evolving job and ensure safety for all. 

And the city has really done a lot in the past couple years in terms of banning the sale of e-mobility devices that have not been certified for safety. They've increased the inspection of bike shops of course and their public education campaign that's in over 10 languages continues to also be a model for how we get this information directly in the hands of workers and approach that endeavor with cultural humility as well. 

This battery trade-in program will remove dangerous uncertified lithium-ion batteries from the streets and people's apartments and replace them with certified, safe and regulated batteries. Many workers may have spent hundreds of dollars on their batteries, they can't afford to replace them. Or they can't afford to miss the days of work while they wait for a regulated battery either. And this program will make it so they don't have to choose between a paycheck and safety.

I'm so proud to be standing here in my district at the first municipal e-bike battery station showcasing the important steps that the city has taken to prevent lithium-ion battery fires and I want to thank the Fire Department for their unwavering support. And even as we take these important steps we still have experienced over 200 battery fires, the tragic loss of four lives this year. This trade-in program will build on our investments. 

We don't want to see another loss of life, clearly we certainly don't want another fire. And unlicensed batteries, removing them and replacing them with safe and regulated batteries is a really great step in the right direction. We have to continue to fight for safer streets and better working conditions for the deliveristas and this is an important, important step in the right direction. I want to thank everyone involved. Thank you so much.

Commissioner Rodríguez: Thank you. Thank you, councilmember. And last but not least, Ligia Guallpa from the Worker's Justice Project.

Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director, Worker's Justice Project: Hello. I am extremely excited and really proud to stand here. And let's just take it back. It's been four years since I remember delivery workers started organizing all the way down from the Upper West Side to City Hall to ensure that they have the rights and they have the infrastructure that they deserve so they can continue to do one of the most essential jobs for the city. 

And it's been four years and we got to this moment where we not only secure some basic essential protections, but we're finally, finally launching the first in the nation municipality trade-in program. This is historic. And I'm going to say why it's historic. Because it is the first time that a city in this nation puts a program that is not just about trading e-bikes. It's about recognizing that delivery workers are essential. It's recognizing that the city deserves, that the city will invest in one of the most essential workforces of our city. This is a recognition to the labor of 65,000 delivery workers. And today is a historic moment. 

And we're proud to stand with a mayor who has fought along with us to make sure that there is not just a program, but there is key investment. A City Council member, like Councilmember Rivera, from the first day that we came to our office with deliverista leaders to talk about the issues that deliverista were experiencing in the road, especially becoming one of the most dangerous jobs in our nation was work with their leadership. Not only we passed laws, but have passed a legislation that allows the creation of this significant program. 

And we're proud to make sure that this program, it's not just a reality, but we're also proud to continue to fight to create more policies that really addresses the needs of 65,000 deliveristas who do one of the most essential jobs for our city. And we're, thank you so much for Mayor Adams, for your leadership, Councilmember Rivera, for really partnering and listening to the needs of deliveristas, the commissioner of DOT who has committed to put their resources and really the people to make sure that this program really becomes a reality on the ground. Thank you so, so much to all of you.

Question: [Inaudible.]

Commissioner Rodríguez: Yeah, this is a $2 million, Mayor Adams administration being allocated. DOT is ready to spend it. We expected that with that money, we'll be able to provide a e-bike and it's chargers to 400, around 400 delivery workers, as I described before what are the criteria. And we feel that not only it will improve safety for the deliveristas, but also for those buildings where they live. And also it will allow DOT to continue getting more data, learning more about all the work that we got to do in the city. 

We have 60,000 delivery workers in the city of New York. They work as we're speaking right now, providing the services. They are the one who always responded to those delivery app company when they say, you have five minutes to deliver the food, you have 15 minutes to deliver it there. So they go so fast when they have to do it because they also have to follow the schedule. So what we are doing the game is not only providing the tool for them to be safe, but also for the city to continue learning more.

Question: [Inaudible.]

Commissioner Rodríguez: Again, I have the best team. There's no other city in this nation that had a greater team in the case of policy as we have with Will and Irene, and they're the one in [inaudible].

So I mentioned it before, what are the criterias. Those individuals that will be qualified, they will have the opportunity to apply starting 2025 online. If the numbers of individual delivery workers that will be applying online will be more than the couple of hundreds that we have the resources for, then we're going to be doing a lottery. They also have to prove that they have made $1,500 in that year, in the previous year before, in this case, 2024, in order to qualify. And they also have to keep the e-bike and the battery that we'll be getting at least for one year.

Question: [Inaudible.]

Irene Figueroa-Ortiz, Senior Policy Advisor, Department of Transportation: So you're asking what is like a timeline between when they apply, when they get the e-bike? 

So it's going to be an open application period where people are going to be submitting their application. We're going to be spending two months maybe reviewing those applications, and then we're going to be notifying people that got selected. And then they're going to be booking a date to attend a distribution event where they're going to be doing the whole thing within two hours. So they're going to bring their e-bike and then they're going to leave that event with a new e-bike.

Question: [Inaudible.]

Mayor Adams: Yeah, as my press person said, we're doing on-topic questions. Is there another on-topic question?

Question: [Inaudible.]

Mayor Adams: Yes, as we just stated that the number of deaths that decreased from last year this time to this year, while we are doing the swap program, we're not sitting on our hands. 

We are moving forward to teach people how to use better language when they describe me, but we're moving forward to let people, as the Fire Department stated, educate, to make sure we have safety measures in place. And we are targeting those areas where we have a high level of deliveristas and people who are using the bikes. So we're not sitting still. At the same time, we're putting our educational program, our enforcement program, and we're going after those locations that have large charging stations, illegal charging stations. So there's a multi-pronged approach. This is another prong on that multi-pronged approach. 

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