Electric transportation company Revel has quickly been becoming a mainstay on New York’s roads. The company’s iconic blue scooters are dotted throughout the city, including many in Brooklyn.
This week, the company’s Brooklyn presence increased greatly with the opening of a new fast charging superhub in Bed-Stuy. The Superhub is the largest universal Electric Vehicle (EV) fast charging depot in the Americas with 25 chargers, and is the first of a network of Superhubs planned by Revel across New York City.
Revel’s superhub is only the third publicly-available EV fast charging station in New York City, with the other two located all the way out by JFK airport. At a ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday, representatives from Revel expressed their hope that the Superhub would expand EV adoption throughout the city.
“It’s no surprise that EV adoption is lagging in our city- the infrastructure just isn’t here yet, and the stations that do exist aren’t accessible to most New Yorkers,” said Revel CEO and Co-Founder Frank Reig. “Our Superhubs are designed to reach as many people as possible in the neighborhoods where they actually live. This is what NYC needs to move towards an electric future and we’re excited to get started.”
The ribbon-cutting was also attended by national and local elected officials who sang the virtues of electric vehicles.
“Today’s ribbon cutting isn’t about just one charging station, even though it is the biggest universal charging station in the country,” United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said at Tuesday’s event.
She continued: “It represents our vision for building a clean energy economy on the foundation of good-paying jobs, overcoming and improving the health outcomes of communities too often left behind. As the old saying goes—if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. And we need electric vehicles and charging stations everywhere, in cities and towns all across America.”
Bed-Stuy City Council Member and Brooklyn Borough President candidate Robert E. Cornegy Jr. concurred.
“Bed-Stuy is taking the lead by becoming home to the largest universal fast charging depot in North America,” Cornegy said. “We are showing that fighting global problems like greenhouse emissions can help our local businesses, so we welcome Revel as part of our community.”
The new charging station also represents the first of multiple planned partnerships between Revel and New York energy giant Con Edison.
“As we work to combat climate change, the future of transportation is electric, but many drivers won’t feel comfortable buying an EV until they see a critical mass of public charging stations around the city,” Con Edison CEO Tim Cawley said of the new charging station. “The Brooklyn superhub makes it convenient for current EV owners to charge up and will encourage more New Yorkers to consider buying an electric car.”
Elsewhere in Brooklyn, Con Edison recently broke-ground on a new clean energy hub in Gowanus. When completed, the hub will come equipped with an additional 18 electric vehicle charging stations.
Despite the ribbon-cutting festivities, electric scooters have recently received a fair amount of negative press after a number of accidents, including a hit-and-run that claimed the life of actress Lisa Banes (Gone Girl, NCIS) in Manhattan. Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials have since called for more e-scooter regulation in the city.
