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Dear New Yorkers,

Since September of last year, New York has banned the sale and rental of e-bike and other micro-mobility batteries that aren’t certified to be safe.

The FDNY deems it a crucial step in the fight to halt deadly fires triggered by exploding devices.

But since then, the city Department of Consumer & Worker Protection has found itself playing a volatile game of Whack-A-Mole trying to stop uncertified sales.

City enforcers have often found success elusive in their battle to get sellers of these potentially dangerous devices to cease and desist, a review of records obtained under the Freedom of Information Law by THE CITY has found.

Those retailers include giants Amazon and Target, as well as neighborhood e-bike stores.

The batteries themselves can be deadly. In all, through April 2024, there have been 735 e-bike battery fires across the five boroughs resulting in 447 injuries and 29 deaths.

Read more about the difficulty in enforcing the ban here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 3/10. Rain lingers over the area today, with periods of showers and high temperatures in the lower 70s. An onshore flow keeps things feeling damp for most of the day, too. The vibes are simply not very good … again.

Our Other Top Stories

More than two dozen current New York City Housing Authority employees have pleaded guilty to a variety of bribery charges as part of a long-standing scheme related to micro-purchase contracts. In February, 70 development-level NYCHA superintendents and assistant superintendents — 55 current and 15 former — were arrested in the biggest one-day takedown in U.S. Department of Justice history, as THE CITY reported at the time. The Madison Boys and Girls Club, a 66-year-old South Bronx clubhouse that hosted the famous gang treaty credited with the birth of hip-hop, is heading to shut down in August. The property is already for sale.

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Reporter’s Notebook

DoorDash Settles Worker Criminal Record Bias Probe

DoorDash has agreed to pay $75,000 to nearly 3,000 job applicants who were rejected because of their criminal records, in violation of city and state anti-discrimination laws, State Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday.

An investigation by her office found that from January to December 2022, the online food delivery company rejected 2,898 applicants based on their criminal history without offering further explanation, and often without considering the nature of the conviction, the applicant’s age at the time of the offense or the time elapsed since.

In New York, it is illegal to discriminate against a job candidate — even if they are prospective independent contractors — because of their criminal history.

DoorDash also committed to updating its hiring practices and reviewing the applications that it rejected. The company entered the agreement “​​without admission of any liability under the law,” according to the settlement.

“At DoorDash, we are committed to having a robust, fair and transparent background check process that balances safety and equity,” spokesperson Eli Scheinholtz said in a statement. “While we believe that our processes complied with New York law, we are pleased to have resolved this matter, and look forward to continuing to offer a flexible way for thousands of New Yorkers to earn.”

— Claudia Irizarry Aponte

CUNY Cash Crunch

The money woes at the city’s public university system are only getting worse, its leaders told the City Council yesterday — and damage from recent protests has not helped.

City University of New York Chancellor Matos Felix Matos Rodriguez testified during a budget hearing that the negative effects of a $95.4 million cut — of the planned $550 million in city funding for CUNY in the upcoming fiscal year, and ongoing trims — “are now widespread and unavoidable.” He said that the reduced funds have left CUNY with 400 fewer teaching and other positions across its seven community colleges.

Matos Rodriguez said CUNY’s financial issues are complicated by a 30% enrollment decline at the community colleges since the pandemic. This coming fall’s enrollment remains unpredictable, he said, as delays in the federal student financial aid system, known as FAFSA, drag out students’ college decision-making.

The Council has proposed that Mayor Eric Adams restore $40 million in cuts to the CUNY budget. Councilmember Alexa Avilés (D-Brooklyn) questioned the chancellor about  the university’s decision to call the police to oust an encampment at City College, saying that “NYPD is not known for deescalation.”

The chancellor said that when protestors started to vandalize buildings and financial aid records and spraypaint cameras, he felt the need to get the NYPD involved. CUNY’s Chief Operating Officer Héctor Batista said damage to City College and the cost of responding to the encampment set the university back over $3 million.

“We will continue to do that difficult balance of protecting free speech that individuals have, but it has to be done within the context of safety and not endangering other people in the community,” Matos Rodriguez said.

The meeting was punctuated with several people at City Hall shouting at Matos Rodriguez during his testimony, demanding CUNY divest from Israel.

— Gabriel Poblete

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Friday, May 17: The New York Public Library’s annual Bronx Anti-Prom, a party with music, snacks and activities that welcomes and celebrates young people of all sexualities, gender identities and gender expressions. Free from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Parkchester Library in The Bronx.  Saturday, May 18: LIC Springs!, a community festival with music, art, performances and more. Free from 12 to 5 p.m., various blocks in Long Island City, Queens. Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19: Aloha Days Family Festival, a celebration with music and hula performances to celebrate Hawai’i. Free from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Museum of the American Indian.

THE KICKER: Central Park is getting ahead of the summer picnic crowd — and rats — by offering special recycling bins just for pizza boxes.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

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