NYCHA Considers ban on E-bikes and b-Bike Batteries on Premises

By: Yehuda Alter 

Following a spate of accidents related to e-bikes and their batteries, New York City Housing Authority is considering a ban on bringing these potentially-explosive devices onto premises owned by NYCHA. 

Violators of the ban could be punished with immediate eviction. 

“Under the proposed new policy, residents and guests would not be able to keep or charge e-bikes or e-bike batteries in apartments or in common areas of NYCHA developments. Also, under NYCHA’s current home-based business policy, a home-based business for repairing, charging, or storing this equipment is prohibited.

“As a reminder, there is already a prohibition on keeping gas-powered vehicles inside NYCHA buildings,” the agency said on its website. 

However, this move is being met with pushback from workers and their advocates, some of whom rely on their e-bikes for their very livelihood. 

One advocate against this rule is NYC Councilmember Alexa Aviles who said, “The safety issues are certainly real and they must be addressed. [But E-bikes are] a greener form of transportation that we want to encourage. They're here to stay and I think it's a growing market and it would just behoove us to really think about the issue comprehensively.”