New York City Officials Urge Retailers and Food Delivery Companies to Address Unsafe Batteries

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New York City officials say retailers and food delivery companies must do more to stop the proliferation of unsafe batteries for electric bikes and scooters, after a fire blamed on a lithium-ion battery electric scooter killed three people over the weekend.Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh spoke Monday outside the Brooklyn townhouse where Sunday’s fire killed three members of a family.Messages were sent seeking comments to Amazon and Walmart.

NEW YORK — New York City officials say retailers and food delivery companies must do more to stop the proliferation of unsafe batteries for electric bicycles and scooters, after a fire blamed on the ion battery Lithium battery from an electric scooter killed three people over the weekend.

“There is blood on the hands of this private industry,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a news conference Monday in front of the charred remains of the Brooklyn rowhouse where the early Sunday fire killed Albertha West, 81 years old, to his son Michael West. 58, and her grandson Jamiyl West, 33.

Firefighters said the fire occurred on the ground floor of the building. “It’s very damaged,” Kavanagh said, adding that the battery that caused the fire was from “some kind of scooter.”

In recent years, the city has suffered hundreds of fires linked to the lithium-ion batteries that power electric bicycles and scooters. City officials have blamed many of the fires on off-market batteries and chargers that don’t meet safety standards, and have pressed the federal government to strengthen regulations governing the sale of electric bikes and batteries.

But Kavanagh said businesses also have a role to play.

“Retailers like Amazon and Walmart must stop selling devices that are not certified safe by a national testing lab, and food service apps like Grubhub and Uber Eats must do more to ensure the safety of their workers who rely on them.” these bikes for a living,” he said.

City officials have not said whether the battery that caused Sunday’s fire came from a vehicle used to make deliveries for one of the food service apps, and did not immediately respond to a Tuesday email seeking more. information.

Tens of thousands of the city’s food delivery workers rely on e-bikes to get dinner to customers quickly, and Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi highlighted the delivery industry during a City Hall news conference Tuesday, noting that time is money for delivery people.

“They get paid to deliver and speed is rewarded,” Joshi said. “And speed means they often take risky steps, like using uncertified batteries, bikes and chargers, or changing bike mechanics to go faster so they can make more money.”

Joshi said New Yorkers should ask themselves, “What is the role of apps in this?” What is your responsibility to ensure that the workers you benefit from have safe equipment without having to pay for it themselves?

Josh Gold, a spokesman for Uber, said online retailers should stop selling devices that have not been certified by UL, a company that conducts safety testing of electronics. “In March, Uber asked the city to implement a small fee on all food deliveries to help transition this industry to UL-certified bikes,” he said in a statement.

Grubhub spokesperson Patrick Burke said: “We have repeatedly called on New York City and the US Congress to provide safe charging centers for delivery partners, to establish a product safety standard for rechargeable batteries. lithium-ion and that address concerns related to illegal use, unregulated charging devices widely available for purchase through online retailers.”

Messages seeking comment were sent to Amazon and Walmart.

2023-11-14 20:56:26
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