NYC Council increases penalties for selling fire-causing e-bikes, passes street vendor reforms

Lawmakers are again trying to rid the city of bikes and scooters equipped with cheap, low-quality batteries capable of starting deadly fires — by targeting the shops that sell them.

The city is beefing up the enforcement, regulations and punishment for businesses that sell e-bikes and other devices equipped with the faulty lithium-ion batteries.

“What we’re doing today is we are not only going after the batteries, we are going after the stores that are selling the batteries,” Councilmember Gale Brewer, who sponsored the package of bills, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The number of fires caused by faulty lithium-ion batteries increased by more than 20% between 2022 and 2023, according to FDNY data reviewed by Gothamist last month. The fires killed 18 people last year – triple the number of people who died in 2022.

Lawmakers previously responded to the fires by outlawing the sales of bikes and scooters with faulty batteries and creating a trade-in program for e-bike riders. They’re now increasing the penalties.

Brewer said Wednesday's legislation would respond to the “delicate balance” of addressing the problem when so many people rely on these mobility devices for work.

One bill will bolster the city’s enforcement of existing laws prohibiting businesses from selling uncertified e-bikes and scooters, and would also increase penalties. The FDNY will now help the Department of Consumer and Worker Protections, an agency that lacks enough inspectors to enforce the law on its own, Brewer said.

Businesses will be required to take inventory of what devices they’re selling – and the fines for pushing uncertified products will also increase to as much as $2,000 for repeat violators.

Brewer's second measure requires e-bike sellers to post safety information and guidelines at their physical stores and online retail platforms. The fines for violating this range from $150 to $350.

Street vendor reforms

The Council also passed bills sponsored by Councilmember Julie Menin, who said they would “ease bureaucratic burdens that are plaguing street vendors.”

“The past few years, the Council has put forward and passed so much legislation that helps our small businesses and ease their regulatory burdens,” Menin said at the same press conference. “Now the Council has taken that same kind of action to help our street vendors.”

These bills modified street vendors’ display and bookkeeping requirements and got rid of a previous tax clearance certificate after renewing a license or permit. A third bill prohibits vendors from selling and storing items in bike lanes.

City Hall did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.