Photo by NYC DOT

To meet growing demand, new fast chargers will be installed this year in NYC DOT municipal parking lots on White Plains Road and in Bensonhurst

The new charging stations support the government’s Green Rides initiative and the goals of PlaNYC; the newest neighborhoods have a high concentration of licensed taxi and limousine drivers

As more New Yorkers switch to electric vehicles, New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced the next phase of expanding the city’s public electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging network. Construction has begun on new fast-charging stations in NYC DOT parking lots in the Bronx and Brooklyn—communities where there is a high concentration of Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) licensed drivers. Both sites are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Expanded access to fast-charging stations will help meet the Adams Administration’s Green Rides program goal of making all shared rides zero-emissions or wheelchair accessible by 2030. This charging infrastructure will also be open to the public.

The two locations where NYC DOT is currently installing four fast chargers (three 50 kW units and one 175 kW unit) that can charge most electric vehicles to 80% in 20 minutes to an hour include:

1. White Plains Road Municipal Field (Pelham Parkway), 2071 White Plains Road, The Bronx (construction begins; opening planned for November 2024)

2. Bensonhurst Municipal Field1763 86th Street, Brooklyn (construction begins in September, opening planned for January 2025)

In addition to the four fast chargers at these locations, these parking lots will also be equipped with four Level 2 chargers, which can fully charge most electric vehicles in 6-8 hours.

The Bronx is currently the borough with the fewest fast chargers, so today’s announcement helps meet Mayor Adams’ PlaNYC goal of having all New Yorkers living within 2.5 miles of a fast charger by 2035. Today, only 71% of New Yorkers live that close to a fast charger, with the majority of infrastructure concentrated in Manhattan and inner Brooklyn and Queens.

The new fast chargers complement the city’s growing network of public charging stations. Prior to this year, the NYC DOT had three fast-charging stations in operation (in the Queens Borough Hall and Court Square city-owned parking garages in Queens and the Delancey/Essex parking garage in Lower Manhattan). In addition to these hubs, the agency has installed 100 Level 2 curbside chargers since 2021 in partnership with Con Edison, helping New York City lead the state’s recent growth in electric vehicles. As of July 2024, there are 62,192 electric vehicles registered in NYC, representing 26% of all electric vehicles registered in the state; last year, New York City accounted for just 21% of the total.

The NYC DOT plans to add additional fast-charging stations in its parking lots and garages throughout the city, including three city-funded stations and up to 11 hubs funded through a partnership with the New York Power Authority (NYPA).

The “Green Rides” initiative:

The Green Rides initiative, announced by Mayor Adams last October, sets annual requirements for Uber and Lyft to transition to 100 percent zero-emission rides or WAV rides by 2030. This initiative makes New York the first city in the U.S. to commit to this type of transition and is an important part of Mayor Eric Adams’ Working People’s Agenda.

Green Rides’ annual goals are designed to ensure a smooth and efficient transition to a cleaner, more accessible fleet by 2030. The original goals of 5 percent in 2024 were to increase to 15 percent by 2025, but that goal was met in January almost two full years ahead of schedule – with the current figure at just over 19 percent. Electric vehicle trips from January to July 2024 saved about 17,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over 69.9 million miles of travel – the equivalent of taking over 4,046 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year.

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