NYC Bans Dangerous Bootleg Lithium-Ion Batteries For E-Bikes

NEW YORK CITY — After a spate of destructive fires, New York City is taking steps to snuff out sales of bootleg e-bike batteries.

Mayor Eric Adams signed five bills Monday that ban the sale of uncertified lithium-ion batteries.

“Today we are supercharging safety for our e-bikes and e-scooters,” he said.

Lithium-ion batteries power e-bikes and e-scooters that are especially popular among the city’s legion of delivery workers.

Such batteries are overwhelming safe if certified, but many cash-strapped delivery workers have turned to buying cheaper bootleg, or uncertified batteries, with questionable safety measures. FDNY officials have tied those shoddier batteries to several recent destructive fires — which they have highlighted in videos.

The city saw 44 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in 2020, fire officials said. The number grew to 220 in 2022, they said.

“They are not just regular fires, they are basically explosions,” Adams said.

Adams and the officials who attended his bill signing emphasized that they’re also taking steps to make sure the ban of uncertified lithium-ion batteries won’t affect delivery workers.

The bills include pilot programs that respectively set up safe, outdoor storage and charging for e-bikes and allow electric micromobility devices on park drives and greenways, officials said.

“E-bikes and scooters are here — might as well get used to them,” Adams said.