City launches EV charger pilot in the Bronx
BY ALIYA SCHNEIDER
Although a new pilot to install
more than 100 curbside
charging ports citywide by October
was unveiled in the Bronx
last month, only 12 of those ports
will eventually make it into the
borough.
The pilot, which is spearheaded
by the NYC Department
of Transportation (DOT), Con
Edison and FLO, an electric vehicle
company, will bring 100
curbside Level 2 public charging
ports to more than 20 neighborhoods
across the fi ve boroughs;
20 ports will also be installed for
city fl eet.
A ribbon cutting ceremony
took place at the new two-port
charger at the corner of Putnam
Place and East Gun Hill Road
on June 24. Another charging
station was activated the same
day with four ports, just 1.6
miles away at the intersection of
Broadway and 240th Street
The two public curbside stations,
tucked just south of Van
Cortlandt Park, are the fi rst of
its kind to be installed in NYC.
The 12 ports in the Bronx
will be dispersed across four
locations; 34 locations are
planned throughout the city.
But all four Bronx locations are
concentrated within less than
0.5-square mile, in and around
the Norwood section. The Bronx
is nearly 41.5 square miles.
Democratic New York City
Councilman Eric Dinowitz, of
District 11, believes the fi rst
curbside chargers being installed
in the Bronx serves as
“recognition” for the borough.
“I think there is more and
more of a recognition that the
Bronx often gets left behind
when it comes to climate justice,
infrastructure improvements,
and so now, with more charging
stations coming to the Bronx,
residents can make the choice
to purchase electric vehicles,”
he said.
The Bronx will also get two
ports at the intersection of
Dekalb Avenue and East Gun
Hill Road, and four ports at the
intersection of Bedford Park
Boulevard and Goulden Avenue.
Each charging location in
the pilot can have between two
and six ports, DOT spokeswoman
Alana Morales said.
“My hope is that chargers become
ubiquitous and that they
exist not just on a handful of
some street corners, but in all
parking garages, the parking
lots in our schools, hospitals,
community centers,” Dinowitz
said, “and so it becomes truly
feasible for residents who don’t
live in a house that don’t have
access to their own charger to
purchase an electric vehicle.”
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 14 ULY 23-29, 2021 BTR
But the lawmaker admits the
pilot will not serve the whole
borough.
“Let’s put it this way, I don’t
think someone from Mott Haven
or Hunts Point is going to drive
to Norwood to fi nd street parking
to charge their electric vehicle,
but this will benefi t the residents
of Norwood and the North
Bronx who again are interested
in purchasing an electric vehicle
but previously did not have
a place to charge their vehicle,”
he said.
Dinowitz added that he
knows a resident who charges
their electric vehicle out of a
third-fl oor window because of
the lack of infrastructure.
Although Morales didn’t
think there was a reason the
Bronx was chosen for the fi rst
installation of the pilot, the
charger locations were selected
based on projected demand for
charging, geographic diversity
and input from local elected offi -
cials and community stakeholders,
according to DOT.
Most of the chargers in NYC
are in private parking garages
in Manhattan, so the city prioritized
neighborhoods outside
the borough to encourage wider
electric vehicle adoption, Morales
Thirty-four charing stations are planned across the city. As part of that
rollout, ports will be installed in four locations in the Bronx, although
those sites are concentrated within less than 0.5-square mile of each
other. Photo/rendering courtesy NYC DOT
said. Making more chargers
accessible is part of an effort
to meet the city’s climate
goals of carbon neutrality by
2050, she added.
Out of 76,329 electric vehicles
registered in New York
State as of July 1, 16,045 are in
NYC. According to New York
State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA)
data, of those electric
vehicles, only 856 — little more
than 5% — are registered in
the Bronx, compared to 5,273
in Queens, 4,524 in Manhattan,
3,918 in Brooklyn and 1,474 in
Staten Island.
The Bronx is the borough
with the highest unemployment
rate in the city as of June, but
the DOT says the cost of electric
vehicles are going down.
By using federal tax incentives,
drivers can choose between
more than 30 models that have
200 miles per charge for under
$30,000, according to DOT.
The pilot charging stations
cost $2.50 per hour from 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m., and $1 per hour overnight.
A daytime charge is
equivalent to the price of fueling
at a gas station and overnight
charging may be more than 60%
cheaper, according to DOT. The
Level 2 Chargers fully charge
electric vehicles in about four
to eight hours, depending on the
vehicle’s battery size. Each port
reserves a street parking spot
for electric vehicles.
The NYC Department of Transportation, Con Edison and FLO, an electric vehicle company, are bringing 100
curbside public charging ports for electric vehicles to more than 20 neighborhoods in the city by October.