Transforming Bklyn Gas Stations With Sustainable Fuel

BP Adams Releases Recommendations for Fueling Brooklyn's Future with Clean Energy

On Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams unveiled "Fueling Brooklyn's Future: Refueling Needs in a Resiliency Era,"  a report with recommendations for modernizing Brooklyn's gas stations with sustainable fuel solutions.

"Fossil fuel is a thing of the past. Let's find ways to encourage industry to grow here around hydrogen and electric vehicles," said Adams. "If we're asking the industry to prioritize, we have to incentivize, and have our businesses and corporations find reasons to invest in this new, cutting-edge technology."

Adams emphasized the need for the city and state to gear up for technology and resiliency adaptions that gas stations and alternative fueling sites need to make. According to his office, since Superstorm Sandy, nine stations have closed in Brooklyn, with two more planning to close and another 12 being at risk in the next few years. Currently there are only 60 charging stations for electric vehicles across the borough, with a significant shortage in central and southern neighborhoods.

Key recommendations of the report included: to create incentives for businesses to retrofit existing stations with new electric vehicle, hydrogen, and compressed natural gas stations; to expand Governor Cuomo's Fuel NY initiative to provide backup power supply at every fueling station, incorporating solar panels, wind-power or backup batteries to protect against fueling interruptions, as experienced during Superstorm Sandy; to commit funding to NYC Department of Transportation for the siting of electric vehicle charging stations in Brooklyn, thereby to encourage technological innovation to decrease dependence on fossil fuels.

"New Yorkers must be bold in the face of our changing climate," stated Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV)." We applaud the steps that Borough President Adams has taken to adapt to a more sustainable future ."

The American Automobile Association (AAA), Air Liquide, Brooklyn Community Board 1 (CB 1), National Grid and the NYLCV contributed and provided feedback to the report.