New York City will build 600 new electric vehicle chargers across the five boroughs after winning a $15 million federal grant, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday.
The new Level 2 chargers, which can usually fully juice up an EV battery within 10 hours, are to be installed along the curbside in all five boroughs. City Hall says at least half of these chargers will be sited in “disadvantaged and low-income neighborhoods.”
The announcement — which will substantially increase the size of New York’s network of publicly accessible EV chargers — is funded by $15 million from the Federal Highway Administration’s Charging & Fueling Infrastructure grant program, part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
It comes as City Hall seeks to convert its fleet of municipal vehicles, plus the tens of thousands of for-hire rides transporting New Yorkers around the city, to clean electric power.
“This $15 million grant will let us build the nation’s largest EV charging program, focused on low-income and disadvantaged areas so people living in all five boroughs can afford to drive and charge electric vehicles — especially as we continue to transition all of our for-hire vehicles to EVs through our ‘Green Rides’ initiative,” Hizzoner said in a statement.
The administration also plans to build 32 solar-powered “charging ports” across eight parking lots owned by the city’s Parks Department, the administration announced.
City Hall did not immediately return an inquiry as to the locations and timeline for the project.
