FDNY Makes First Ever Criminal Arrest of E-Bike Shop Owner for Unsafe Storage of Batteries
For the first time in their campaign to stamp out e-bike battery fires, the Fire Department Friday filed criminal charges against an e-bike shop owner who has repeatedly faced civil summons for allegedly selling illegal uncertified batteries and charging the potentially explosive batteries in an unsafe manner.
Just after noon Friday, fire marshals arrived at the Electric Bicycle Shop at 1239 Flatbush Ave. in Flatbush, Brooklyn, arresting and handcuffing the store owner, Tian Liang Liu. The charges, including reckless endangerment, relate to fire code violations due to the unsafe storage and charging of batteries.
This is the first time the department has used criminal charges against those violating laws related to e-bike batteries. Until now the FDNY and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection have strictly relied on hitting store owners with civil penalties. In most cases, those only carry minimal financial penalties.
The arrest indicates the FDNY’s increasing frustration in its efforts to end a disturbing trend that has skyrocketed since the number of micro-mobility devices mushroomed during the pandemic. More than 660 e-bike battery fires have erupted across the city since 2019, killing 28 New Yorkers and injuring 400 more.
