New York City has been plagued by incidents of lithium-ion battery fires and explosions. This week, the fire department raided an electric bike shop in Forest Hills, Queens, to crack down on illegally manufactured lithium batteries, only to have one of the batteries explode on the spot. The Chinese owner of the shop was arrested on the spot, marking the second Chinese business owner arrested recently in relation to illegal lithium batteries.
On April 29, the fire department conducted an inspection at Wilson’s E-Bike Shop located at 101-19 Queens Boulevard. Aside from finding 80 electric bikes and other micro-mobility devices on the first floor and basement, inspectors discovered 282 illegal, uncertified lithium batteries. The inspectors placed these batteries in hazardous containment barrels for removal, but one of the batteries exploded and caught fire on the spot.
The owner, Wei Chen, was found to have illegally modified batteries using second-hand parts and unlawfully stored gasoline. He was issued three court summonses and arrested for reckless endangerment of others’ safety and property. Chen was taken to the 112th precinct of the city police department for questioning.
This is not the first time Wilson’s E-Bike Shop has gotten in trouble. The shop was previously shut down twice for illegal manufacturing and refurbishing of lithium batteries on February 8. Despite previous enforcement actions and incidents of battery malfunctions leading to fires, the shop continued producing uncertified batteries.
New York City has been cracking down on the manufacturing and sale of refurbished batteries, resorting to criminal arrests for repeat offenders. Prior to Wei Chen’s arrest, another Chinese business owner, Tian Liang Liu from a bike shop on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, was arrested on April 12 for multiple violations.
According to data from the New York City Fire Department, there were 18 fatalities in lithium battery fires citywide last year, marking the highest number of deaths from such fires in nearly twenty years.