New York City Council holding hearing on e-bikes and fire safety

NEW YORK — The New York City Council is holding a hearing on e-bikes and battery safety on Monday after recent fires, including one that injured dozens inside a Midtown apartment building and another that killed a little girl in Queens.  The City Council is considering legislation aimed at informing e-bike and e-scooter users about just how dangerous the devices can be – especially when it comes to improperly storing and charging them, CBS2’s Elijah Westbrook reported.  Forty-three residents of an apartment building on the East Side were injured in a fire on Nov.

5. Investigators discovered at least five e-bikes either inside or outside caught fire.  “We believe the occupant was repairing bikes in the building,” said FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn.

 In September, an 8-year-old girl died in a fire in Queens after an e-scooter battery sparked.  The fires are prime examples of why fire safety advocates are backing proposed changes to the law.  Shaqane Mitchell, who lives at the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village, said her next-door neighbor’s apartment caught fire in December from lithium-ion batteries used to power an e-bike.

“It was traumatizing. I still have nightmares about it. It’s something you never want to live with,” said Mitchell.

“I don’t know if my neighbor charged their battery or not. I don’t know. It should be safer stations for these batteries, and they should be regulated.

“The bike was charging inside an apartment, according to the FDNY, but the fire sent residents scrambling to safety. Two teenage sibling climbed down a pole on the side of the building to get out of their 4th-floor apartment.  Mitchell is part of a coalition of city residents, delivery workers and fire safety advocates called “Safer Charging.

” They’re demanding the City Council pass regulations for charging e-bikes and e-scooters so the horror they and many others endured doesn’t happen again.  Their pleas could become reality as city leaders work on it.  “The mayor and Senator Schumer announced a million dollars to build stations.

They’re going to use some of the vacant newsstands,” said Council Member Gale Brewer.  “Lithium-ion batteries are being used more often now compared to let’s say five, 10 years ago. We’re taking action to prohibit the sale of ones that are unsafe,” said Council Member Oswald Feliz.

 If approved, the bill would make it law that the batteries being used were tested at a nationally recognized lab. It would prohibit the used of second lithium-ion batteries that have been reconditioned for other purposes, and required the FDNY to educate the public about how to properly charge and store the devices.  The goal is to prevent these alarming numbers that are up about 50 percent.

As of Nov. 13, the FDNY reports 188 investigations, 139 injuries and six deaths from e-bike fires this year. Last year, there were 104 investigations, 79 injuries and four deaths.

 Some apartment buildings in the city are banning e-bikes and e-scooters, which some say isn’t fair. Many users are food delivery workers who rely heavily on them, they said.  “I think the approach of banning, I think is the wrong direction,” said Hildalyn Colon Hernandez, an organizer with Los Deliveristas Unidos.

 Some believe the government should crack down on dysfunctional batteries and keep track of who is selling them. Reports show many of the fires are caused by refurbished batteries or ones that are not compatible with the charger being used.  “Instead of proposing alternatives, how we can do this better and safer and people to come forward, I think the banning is just taking us back in a totally different direction,” said Hernandez.

 A person who violates the proposed law would be hit with a $200-$1,000 fine for each violation. .