The city is giving landlords the ability to generate some extra cash by installing outdoor battery charging stations in front of their buildings and charge a fee for bikers to access the amenity.
The Department of Transportation on Monday launched an application process for building owners to install e-bike battery charging and swapping cabinets on public sidewalks outside of their properties. The idea is for landlords, or their ground-floor retailers, to offer tenants and the delivery workers most city eateries rely on, greater access to outdoor e-bike battery charging, instead of risking lithium-ion batteries sparking deadly fires inside businesses and apartments.
In 2024, lithium-ion batteries ignited 279 fires and killed six people, FDNY data shows. The fires are tied to the city’s delivery economy boom and its workers’ reliance on inexpensive, uncertified electric bikes and mopeds. DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement that the effort seeks to make safe charging infrastructure more accessible to curb fire safety concerns, while giving private property owners the perk of monetizing public space to better serve their tenants. “We need to do our part to ensure charging is safe and accessible,” said Rodriguez.
Building owners can charge bikers a fee to access the cabinets, but the Transportation Department hasn’t worked out potential restrictions for such fees, according to the agency. One e-bike cabinet company, the Berlin-based Swobbee, that the city is partnering with to add the infrastructure on sidewalks says it plans to charge a maximum of $2 a day for an unlimited number of battery swaps.
A landlord or ground-floor tenant in a building with an eatery, shop or community space, or with five or more apartments, can apply for permission to bolt the skinny, vending-machine size metal cabinets to the sidewalk, which are lined with lockers that store and juice up batteries. Building owners interested in applying can contact DOT to obtain a permit at revocableconsents@dot.nyc.gov. The city on Monday also published a step-by-step guide on the application process.
But the process won’t come cheap or quick. Applicants must pay a $750 filing fee, and if city officials approve the initial documents, applicants must put down a $3,000 security deposit followed by roughly $1,250 more in fees. DOT expects the application process to take roughly a year. The cost to install and maintain the e-bike infrastructure will likely run landlords thousands of dollars more, depending on how many charging cabinets applicants propose, insurance fees and if they hire a company to run the structures, such as the Brooklyn-based Popwheels.
Organizations that represent landlords across the boroughs, including The Real Estate Board of New York and the New York Apartment Association, have expressed openness to the model and say that they’re in the process of reviewing the rules.
The good news is once an applicant secures the city’s permission, they won’t have to renew for ten years. Proposed charging locations would have to comply with specific safety and dimension requirements — like sensors to monitor the batteries and automatic shut-offs if a battery is overheating — and must be reviewed for approval by Fire Department inspector, the Department of Buildings and the Public Design Commission.
