New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in his final State Of The City address last month, said, "We'll work with the City Council to amend the Building Code so that up to 20 percent of all new public parking spaces in private developments will be wired and ready for electric vehicles, creating up to 10,000 parking spots for electric vehicles over the next seven years.” That process is underway—even if there are obstacles, such as difficulties owning a car in Manhattan, the slow pace of EV infrastructure so far, and Mayor Bloomberg's spotty track record with green car initiatives.
Nonetheless, ChargePoint announced earlier this week that it installed its first of about 80 charging stations in New York City. This first station, installed at The Solaire in Battery Park City, was funded by a $1 million incentive from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
In 2012, Governor Cuomo announced that $4.4 million would be awarded to 10 companies and organizations directly tied to plug-in vehicle infrastructure. ChargePoint was included in this list of 10. ChargePoint will be tasked with installing at least 325 charging stations in the State of New York.
"Through Governor Cuomo’s ‘Charge NY’ program, the state is taking a proactive approach to investing in an EV infrastructure that will encourage New Yorkers to transition from less efficient vehicles to electric vehicles," said Francis J. Murray Jr., president and CEO, NYSERDA. "Given the amount of emissions produced by the transportation sector, this statewide EV infrastructure will allow the state to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions."
With both the Mayor and Governor on board, New York will finally in earnest begin its efforts to catch up with West Coasts cities and states in establishing plug-in vehicle infrastructure.
This all sounds great, but they are all L2 chargers. That's an important part of the equation, but NYS has an opportunity to create its own version of an electric highway - the NYS Thruway passes through all of the largest cities in NYS, and has a rest stop every 40 miles. If NYSERDA sponsored quick chargers at each rest stop, it would link all of NYS in a new electric highway. Millions of travellers EVERY DAY would have access to extended-range pure BEV travel. But no, they refuse to consider it.
Oh, and NYC is so much more than Manhattan. In Manhattan, you often don't need or want to own a car. The subway system is fantastic, while the streets are horrible to drive on. By contrast, in my grandmother's neighborhood in Queens, every house has a car, most have two or more. I have to assume that the 10,000 chargers will be placed in all 5 boroughs, not just Manhattan.