Queens To Get 14 Electric Car Charging Ports In Pilot Program

QUEENS, NY — The city will install roughly a dozen charging stations for electric cars in Queens starting next spring.

Western Queens will get 10 charging stations and Richmond Hill and Springfield Gardens will get two charging stations each as part of a NYC Department of Transportation pilot program to add 50 of them citywide.

The 14 planned Queens chargers will come at a cost of up to 28 parking spots, according to the agency.

The agency briefed local community boards and elected officials on the locations it's considering for the charging ports in July, a DOT spokesperson said.

The city will partner with utilities company Con Edison to install the chargers starting in spring 2020. Con Ed is paying for design, installation, operation and maintenance of the chargers, according to the DOT.

Just 8,952 of the more than 2 million cars registered in New York City are electric vehicles, the New York Post reported.

Queens and Manhattan have the most electric cars, with about 3,000 in each borough, according to the Post.

But the city's transportation officials say car owners need a way to charge electric vehicles to trade in their gas guzzlers.

"In New York, where many people park their cars at the curb and don’t have access to a home charger, that can be a challenge," the agency said in a statement.

The list of charging station locations will be finalized by the end of the year, according to a DOT spokesperson. New Yorkers can submit feedback on the proposed locations here.

Here are the locations being considered for charging stations in Queens: