Mayor Eric Adams: FDNY response to 311 calls about questionable lithium-ion battery charging to happen within 12 hours
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams says the city is making changes following a fire at an e-bike store that killed four people early Tuesday.
CBS2 learned more about the new path to safety.
Just before Adams toured the charred aftermath of a fire in Chinatown that killed a 71-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman, he announced the FDNY will now respond within 12 hours to 311 calls regarding questionable activity about batteries being charged -- as opposed to the 72-hour response time currently required.
"We need real action," Adams said. "Every call will be addressed quickly and violations will be result in enforcement."
Questionable activity might include batteries being charged closely together or mazes of extension cords, like the violations the FDNY says it found at the shop last year.
The mayor also said the city's Small Business Services department and the FDNY will reach out to bike repair shops across the five boroughs to spread safety awareness.
"You could see the flames coming out of the bike shop," witness Jonas Jonasson said of Tuesday's blaze.
Jonasson said something needs to change.
"Whether it's refurbished batteries or new batteries, it seems like it's sort of a complicated, technical thing, but it doesn't sound like were gonna outlaw them, either," Jonasson said.
CBS2 mapped out the more than 300 lithium-ion battery fires in New York City since the start of last year. We found clusters in working class zip codes in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. There have been 15 just in 11368 zip code -- a part of Corona, Queens.
"Many people using refurbished batteries are from low-income areas and they use the batteries as part of their vital services," Adams said.
The mayor said he doesn't want to hamper delivery workers and other people who use e-bikes for work, adding his goal is to get people to correct violations, but the city will shut down down habitual abusers of the city's laws.
