Announcer: Listener supported. WNYC studios. [music]

Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. Just this one episode today tis the holiday season. Here's your news headlines from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: Today's the deadline for New York City restaurants to take down their street dining sheds. Restaurant owners now need permits from the Department of Transportation if they want to keep their sheds up during the new season from April 1st to November 29th. The change came amid complaints that the sheds attracted rats and took away parking spaces. Mitchell Moss is a professor of urban policy and planning at NYU who helped develop Pandemic-era street dining rules. He says permits come from or come with fees and that could hurt smaller restaurants with fewer resources.

Mitchell Moss: In other words, we now have license fees, we have public hearing fees, we have a security deposit. I thought we, in our recommendations, should put encouraging outdoor dining as a priority.

Michael Hill: Restaurants that keep their illegal sheds could also face strict fines would start at $500 for a first offense. New York City has more than 660,000 street trees, and this fall's drought has left many dangerously dehydrated. Nina Brown is the community field manager at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

Nina Brown: Every single street tree bed is a little miniature park. Life at the curb is life on the edge, and a lot of street trees are really, really vulnerable to use and abuse.

Michael Hill: Curbside trees depend on neighbors for care and regular rainfall to survive, but recent dry conditions mean they're getting little water. Trees need about 20 gallons or an inch of rain weekly to stay healthy. Arborists suggest loosening soil with a cultivator and watering slowly to help. 46 and some sunshine out there now. Isolated sprinkles and sunshine today, upper 40s, slight breeze, and then cold and even chilly this weekend.

Janae Pierre: Lithium-ion batteries. Those long rectangular batteries used in E-bikes have become a fiery threat in New York City. After the break, fire officials share their plan to tackle the issue. Stay close. Lithium-ion battery fires are happening across New York City at an alarming rate. The long, rectangular batteries used in everything from E-bikes to laptops are responsible for more than 200 fires across the five boroughs so far this year. FDNY officials are working with representatives from the federal government and across the US to address the issue. For more, my colleague Sean Carlson recently spoke with FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker and Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn.

Sean Carlson: There have been concerns, Commissioner Tucker, that legislation has not kept pace with the threat posed by lithium-ion batteries. What specific measures would the department like to see codified to address the issue?

Commissioner Tucker: First and foremost, we need the United States Senate to pass HR 1797, which will allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create a national safety standard for batteries. This would go a long way, not just here in New York, but all over the country, to regulate batteries. We have made significant progress here locally, but HR 1797 needs to be passed on a federal level because these batteries are being sold in other states and brought to New York City, where we have seen an unfortunate amount of fires and fire deaths.

Sean Carlson: Commissioner, can you tell us more about what that bill does specifically?

Commissioner Tucker: Yes, the main thing about 1797 is it will create one agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to regulate these batteries on a national level. The lithium-ion batteries can be very dangerous, especially those that are not regulated, and this would create the responsibility of one agency to be the regulating authority.

Sean Carlson: Chief Lynn, can you tell us about some best practices for storing and charging those batteries?

Chief Lynn: Some of the key facts that you should know are, one, not having these plugged in does not make you safer. We see that these devices do fail while not charging, actually more often than they fail while charging. Don't have that full sense of security that if it's not plugged in that you're safe because you are not. That's the first point. The second point is if you have to bring these inside, which we want everybody to keep them outside whenever possible, make sure you keep these outside.

If you need to have them inside, and we understand that because we live in a very cramped city, but if you do bring them inside your apartment, do not put this device between you and your primary means of exiting that apartment. We don't want these by the front door. That seems to be the easiest place to put them because you're coming in with them at the end of the day and you're leaving in the morning with them. Think about how you're going to get out if these do fail. That's really the most important factor. If there is a problem with your battery, make sure that you replace it with a high-quality battery.

Don't just go online and find the cheapest alternative. I'm guilty of that myself sometimes with chargers and things like that. These will kill you. Make sure that you're purchasing a very high-quality product, ideally from the manufacturer that you purchased this battery from. Always have a plan. Have a way out. Understand that they do pose a danger to you and your family. Don't keep them in your child's bed. We see a lot of children that have these devices, scooters, hoverboards. Do not leave those inside your child's bedroom.

We had a fire in Queens a couple of years ago. That child had one of these in their bedroom. The father actually heard the device fail. The fire was so intense when he got in there, he was unable to save his child. Just imagine how intense that fire will be in a very, very short time, and buy high-quality products. Make sure that you're purchasing a product with the UL sticker on there.

Sean Carlson: Chief Fire Marshal, we wanted to move on to some other topics. Indoor fires are more common during the winter. What are some tips New Yorkers can practice to minimize their risk?

Chief Lynn: I think we shouldn't move away from those traditional safety tips that we've all grown up with. Have a working smoke detector. That's really one of the main pieces of advice that we can give you. It's easy to do. We could even supply it for you on our own. There is an option for us to even install that in your house. If you need one, reach out to us. We'll try to get one to you. Sometimes it's a hassle. You have it in the kitchen. It may activate when you're cooking. Find a better place for it. Don't just use the solution of taking it down and not putting it back up.

We see that a lot. Make sure that the batteries are functioning properly. Test it often. Make sure you're not blocking your exit. Similar to the bike issue. Have a plan of escape. You want to have access to your fire escape. If you have a fire escape in your apartment, know how to utilize the door to get to the fire escape. A lot of these fire escapes have doors that need to be opened. Practice. Practice for your evacuation. It may save your life.

Janae Pierre: That's Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn and Commissioner Robert Tucker talking with my colleague Sean Carlson. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. Shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Bowditch, Amber Bruce, Audrey Cooper, Owen Kaplan, Liora Noam-Kravitz, Jared Marcel, Jen Munson, and Wayne Shulmister. With help from all of my wonderful colleagues in the WNYC newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck and our music was composed by Alexis Cuadrado. I'm Janae Pierre. Enjoy the weekend and those leftovers. We'll be back on our regular schedule next week. See you Monday.

[music]

Copyright © 2024 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.