E-bike battery charging cabinets will appear in front of businesses and residential buildings by next year, officials said Monday, as the city seeks to prevent lethal fires from delivery workers’ lithium-ion batteries.
The city plans to allow business owners to install charging cabinets on the sidewalks in front of their properties where delivery workers could either recharge their batteries or swap out depleted ones. Such cabinets already operate as part of a pilot program at a handful of locations in the city, including Cooper Square in Manhattan, where Mayor Eric Adams joined fire and transportation officials for the Monday announcement.
Since 2019, there have been more than 700 fires caused by the lithium-ion batteries in the city,…
