Video, Audio, Photos, B-Roll & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Encourage the Safe Use of E-Bikes and Lithium-Ion Batteries and Protect New Yorkers

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package to raise awareness about the safe use of e-bikes and products that contain lithium-ion batteries and protect New Yorkers. As e-bikes have surged in popularity, these new laws build on Governor Hochul’s number one priority of keeping New Yorkers safe both on and off the road.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

AUDIO of the Governor’s remarks is available.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

B-ROLL of Governor Hochul signing the bills into law is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Today, we’re taking the first steps to extinguish the scourge of lithium-ion battery fires here in New York City. And I want to acknowledge so many individuals who care deeply about this issue. And let's think about the fact that on a Friday afternoon last February, firefighters were called to a Harlem apartment fire that was engulfed in flames. They arrived, there were trapped residents, they were gasping for air, pleading for help, screaming outside shattered windows. The black smoke was visible and enveloped them and suspended on ropes hanging from the roof. Brave firefighters scaled the edge of the building trying to pull people through the windows and lower them to safety.

One man did die that day: a 27-year-old, Fazil Khan, who had come to this country in search of a new beginning — came all the way from India to pursue his dreams. Jelani Cobb is the Dean of the Columbia School of Journalism, where Fazil earned his degree, and he's with us here today. Jelani would tell you that this young man was a kind soul — talented, relentless in his pursuit of investigative journalism, exposing injustices in the education system.

Who knows what a young man like that could have accomplished, the work he might have done, the lives he might have changed, had he lived that day. The blaze sparked by a lithium-ion battery from an e-bike that was charging on the third floor. He lost his life, brave firefighters risked theirs, in a fire that was totally preventable.

So, I want to thank individuals who stepped up to hear these cries for help, starting with individuals like our DASNY President Robert Rodriguez, who as Secretary of State, worked on this initiative tirelessly. I also want to thank Cordell Cleare for her vision in crafting legislation — just this very session — working with other members of the Legislature.

I want to thank Senator Iwen Chu. Senator Chu, thank you so much for all your advocacy and support for protecting individuals. Assemblymember Alex Bores, one of our co-sponsors as well, thank you so much. Assemblymember Chris Eachus has joined us as well. Thank you for all the work that you've done, Assemblymember Eachus.

Assemblymember Manny De Los Santos, understanding what it's like when these fires hit neighborhoods like his. Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, thank you for all your hard work on this issue as well, Assemblymember. I want to thank Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman. Thank you, you've been a great advocate. I want to thank you for all the work you've done with us as well.

Also, we have people who understand the dangers. We’re fortunate to have Commissioner of FDNY, Laura Kavanagh, joining us here today. Let's give her a round of applause, Mrs. Kavanagh. An individual who represents the Uniformed Firefighters of Greater New York, Andy Ansbro. I want to thank you and your members for putting their lives on the line every single day so we can sleep soundly in our beds while they're out there protecting us.

I also want to recognize Rabbi Michael Miller. Rabbi Michael Miller, who has his own story to tell that we spoke about — his horrific accidents that he's still recovering from, and he looks like he's doing well from one of those e-scooters. We’ll be talking about this further on some of our initiatives on that.

So today — and all the other electeds here — I see Gale Brewer has joined us as well, and Luis Sepúlveda and others who are part of the delegation here in the City Council and also from our State Legislature who've done so much. I also want to thank so many others for all the work that they've done.

So, let's talk about what we're doing here today. Let's talk about the facts in New York City alone, lithium-ion batteries sparked 268 fires that injured 150 people and claimed 18 lives. You know what the number was just a couple years ago? Zero. Zero people lost their lives.

Today, I want to announce some new measures pertaining to e-bikes, scooters and moped safety on the roads. And shoddy lithium-ion batteries have quickly become one of the most dangerous objects in our city. Look at the danger. Look at this. Look at this. Without warning, they can malfunction, overheat, ignite, and explode, causing this level of destruction. They're often uncertified, poorly made, sold with no clear safety instructions or recommended precautions

And, as I said, these are tough fires to fight. These batteries don't catch on fire like kindling. They explode like a grenade. They spew toxic gas and chemicals everywhere. For our first responders, it’s like arriving at the scene of an arson where someone poured a gallon of gasoline on a home right before lighting a match. That's how explosive this is. That's how fast the fire spreads. And often they're battling more than one blaze because battery cells ejected in the initial explosion spark a second fire somewhere else in the building. And the spike of these fires clearly coincides with the surging popularity of e-bikes — particularly during the Pandemic.

People became more reliant on food delivery services. Now, this idea has been good for our city in many ways. It helps small business owners deliver goods and groceries – kept many restaurants going. They're good for the drivers who can transport food faster, make more money. Many of these delivery workers are immigrants who race door to door to make a better life for their families. And they became essential workers during the pandemic. But I don't know if they know that they might be on a ticking time bomb. Think about that. How would they possibly know the battery – that's within the vehicle that they're riding?

So, up to now, not enough has been done to educate people, empower them, how to charge a battery, how to store the battery, how to operate the bike safely. And we haven't put a check on the greedy manufacturers that put profit over safety and flood the market with cheap malfunctioning batteries. Here in New York, that changes today.

In a few moments, I'll sign a package of bills to protect New Yorkers from the dangers of lithium-ion batteries. We're going to create one consistent quality standard for all lithium-ion batteries that they must meet. And batteries that don't meet those standards are banned. And if companies try to cut corners and sell substandard batteries, we'll slap them with costly penalties. These new laws will also promote awareness about how to safely charge and store the bikes. Now, it's also important that these are not, this information is not provided at the point of sale. That's where you have the customer in front of you. That's when you can have that conversation. That's when you can give them the information.

So, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, and I want to thank Commissioner Jackie Bray, who is with us here today for her incredible work on this public safety and for what she did, giving me minute by minute description of every part of the State of New York yesterday during some historic weather conditions. I want to thank you for your leadership of this agency. They'll develop a robust set of resources on safety and the best practices. And now we'll require retailers to include an operating manual. We'll also require e-bikes to come with a bright red tag on the charging cord explicitly, explicitly stating they should never be plugged in once the battery is fully charged.

Counterintuitive, right? You'll think it doesn't matter if it remains charged and plugged in. But this is part of the dangerous conditions that this causes. This is a frequent cause of the fires right there. Another new law stipulates that specific training materials be sent to firefighters, so they know the best practices for putting out fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries.

Not just here in New York, but as I was speaking to county executives around the State yesterday, I spoke to them about this. This is becoming a problem even outside the City where it really started in earnest. While faulty batteries are a significant issue, we also know there's major concerns about pedestrian safety once the e-bikes are on the street.

In many cases, crashes happen because of confusion about the rules of the road. Today, I'm signing a law that requires all e-bikes, all e-scooters to come with a warning sticker that clearly states that the bikes must always yield to pedestrians. And if any retailer flouts this rule or any rider sells an e-bike without the sticker, they can also get hit with a fine.

We'll have the ability to enhance e-bike safety also by compiling more information about the crashes because they're not recorded now — where they're happening, how often they happen, who's involved in these crashes — is there a pattern? We don't have that data right now. We need that. We can use that to create smart, informed policies right now, because we just don't have it.

They're not even investigated, resolved or reported. People just say it's not worth it and nothing happens. That changes today. I'll also be mandating that any time an individual is hurt with a collision with an e-bike or scooter, it'll be investigated by law enforcement. And that data will be sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles here in the State of New York.

We'll also require all mopeds purchased in New York be registered at the point of sale. Right now, they're not registered. You don't track these. You don't know who owns them. So, like so many e-bikes, once again, it's the mopeds. It’s hard to track down who did what, what happened. How do we help people?

So, with these new laws, my team will have what they need to devise additional measures to ensure e-bikes, e-scooters, and mopeds are safely operated on our streets. And I will say this with our legislators who care about this deeply who are present — we’re not done. We're going to continue finding ways. We have other opportunities in the next legislative session to sit down and be creative and figure out what has not yet been solved by this initial — I was going to say battery of legislation — but I stopped myself.

Because, keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority and the top priority of our legislators here today. Today is a win for consumer safety, it's a win for public safety and no one should ever, ever worry that an e-bike they use to make a living is also putting themselves, their families and their neighbors in harm's way.

No one should fear that the e-bike charging down the hall could go off like a bomb any moment. And no firefighter should ever risk their lives because some cheap manufacturer cutting the corners had to make an extra buck. These new laws will hold reckless battery makers accountable, build awareness on how to handle e-bikes — and also protect our first responders.

And the bottom line is, we're going to start saving lives. Thank you very much.