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Dear New Yorkers,

This week, the U.S. House passed a bill to bring federal oversight to the sale of e-bike batteries.

It’s a game-changer in the ongoing effort to crack down on the unsafe and potentially volatile devices that have triggered hundreds of fires — some fatal — across New York City, city and federal officials say.

The bill passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 378 to 34. It was sponsored by Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-The Bronx), and would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create its first-ever safety standards for micro-mobility devices and their batteries.

Torres says the effect of the law would be a prohibition on the sale of batteries that haven’t been certified as safe by a recognized test lab such as UL Solutions: “It will essentially ensure that lithium-ion batteries in the American market are safely manufactured. It would have the effect of rendering illegal poorly manufactured batteries mostly from China.”

The bill now has a very high chance of becoming a law: the Senate version is sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and has bipartisan support there. It is also co-sponsored by her fellow New York Democrat, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who in his leadership role controls if and when it gets to the Senate floor for a vote.

Read more about the bill here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Friday's Weather Rating: 8/10. A RECOVERY! Morning overcast partially clears out, with partly sunny skies and high temperatures reaching the lower 70s this afternoon. Humidity decreases too, despite a consistent breeze. The vibes are much better out there today!

Our Other Top Stories

New York City continues to add jobs at the same pace as the rest of the country, finally putting the pandemic downturn in the rear view mirror. That’s according to new data released Thursday by the state labor department, which shows that employment increased by 32,500 in the first four months of the year to a record 4,735,600 jobs, spurred primarily by a surge in health-care hiring. This week, the MTA scrapped a series of scheduled trips on express bus routes that link the boroughs with Manhattan, sounding a familiar refrain on social media about a shortage of drivers. The rash of cancellations came as the MTA plans to boost service on six express bus routes next month, just before the scheduled June 30 start of congestion pricing. Hundreds of older New Yorkers rallied yesterday outside City Hall to protest cuts to the city’s Department for the Aging, which could shutter dozens of senior centers and reduce services like meal delivery. The agency had its budget slashed by $20 million last year, and faces an additional $80 million in cuts in the budget City Hall has proposed for the coming fiscal year. The City Council will be holding a hearing on the Department of Aging’s budget later today.

Reporter’s Notebook

COMPOST ENDS

This weekend marks the last one where New Yorkers can drop off food scraps, plant trimmings and other organic materials with nonprofit GrowNYC at greenmarkets and other sites throughout the five boroughs. Many of those locations have already permanently closed.

Due to budget cuts, GrowNYC is shutting down its compost program by May 20. The group originally expected to end its city-funded program by the end of 2023, but a private donation sustained its operations for several months beyond that.

GrowNYC ensured the organics it collected were composted — that is, turned into nutrient-rich soil — at the Department of Sanitation’s Staten Island facility or at a number of other community compost locations.

New Yorkers can still keep their organics out of landfills — where it breaks down into planet-warming methane — by discarding their organic material in orange “smart bins” located throughout the boroughs, and in their curbside brown bins if they live in Queens or Brooklyn. But not all of that material gets composted: much of it becomes biogas.

— Samantha Maldonado

$2B Budget Boon

With negotiations over a new city budget intensifying, the Independent Budget Office has handed City Council members seeking to restore cuts to libraries and increase spending a $2 billion gift.

An IBO report issued this week predicted the city will end the current fiscal year on June 30 with a surplus $1 billion higher than the administration of Mayor Eric Adams forecasted in its executive budget issued earlier this month. The IBO also expects the city will have another $1 billion more for next year’s budget than the mayor proposed.

There are three reasons for the added money. Tax revenues will be slightly higher than the mayor expects. But the IBO expects payroll costs and the costs of caring for asylum-seekers will also come in below projections, the latter in large part because a summer surge of migrants is unlikely this year.

The 2025 budget must be adopted by June 30.

— Greg David

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: Can’t afford to buy a home in NYC? Try buying a Staten Island ferry.

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

Love,

THE CITY

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