Nearly 1,000 new electric vehicles to replace fossil fuel-powered city fleet vehicles

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock and New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez on Wednesday announced $10.1 million in federal grants to replace nearly 925 fossil fuel-powered fleet vehicles with electric vehicles (EV) and install 315 new EV chargers across the city. 

Adams said DOT facilitated the grant application process through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and will administer the funding. 

The mayor said DCAS will receive $6.2 million, and the remainder will be disbursed to the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). 

This investment helps advance the city’s goal of electrifying its entire vehicle fleet, building on the steps already taken by the Adams administration to meet the New York City Clean Fleet Plan ahead of schedule. 

“When New Yorkers see cars, trucks and vans with the ‘NYC’ logo on the side, they can rest assured that those vehicles are contributing to a greener city,” said Mayor Adams. “We are already ahead of schedule in transitioning city vehicles away from fossil fuels, and this new grant will allow us to take nearly 1,000 fossil-fuel vehicles off our roads, helping us reduce carbon emissions, make our air cleaner, and save on fuel costs.” 

“Under Mayor Adams’ leadership, New York City has already become a national leader in sustainability and green infrastructure,” said First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo. “This new grant will help us continue to transition our fleet to electric vehicles, protecting our environment and continuing to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers.”

“Thanks to this investment from the Biden Administration, the city is poised to make huge progress on making our fleet more climate-friendly,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Our agencies rely on these vehicles to complete vital operations within the five boroughs, and this funding helps us decarbonize some of the hardest vehicles to decarbonize: heavy-duty trucks. From cleaning the streets to getting our air cleaner, the trucks move us in the right direction.” 

“We are laying the groundwork for an all-electric fleet of the future that will support critical citywide operations while benefiting the environment,” said DCAS Commissioner Pinnock. “Through this funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, we are poised to make a significant transition for our light- and medium-duty fleet. 

“This is a critical next step for our agency as we lead the charge in government fleet operations,” she added. “We thank our partners at our sister agency, the New York City Department of Transportation, for their support and advocacy for this funding and look forward to these vehicles replacing fossil fuel-powered models.” 

“We see the impact of climate change each day, so today’s announcement recognizes that the time for meaningful change — including accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles — is now,” said DOT Commissioner Rodriguez. “Thanks to this funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the city will be able to replace nearly 1,000 municipal vehicles — including a large proportion of DOT’s fleet — with greener alternatives. 

“Under the leadership of Mayor Adams, we are proud to work with DCAS and our other sister agencies on our shared goal of reducing emissions from the transportation sector,” he added. 

“The mechanical broom cleans the streets, and with these new hybrids, we’ll be able to clean the air, too,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “I want to thank our partners in city government and in Washington, D.C., for making this possible.”

Adams said the $10.1 million in funding will help procure 382 Chevrolet Bolts, 360 Ford E-Transit vans, and 150 Ford F-150 E-Lightning pick-up trucks. 

Additionally, the mayor said 25 plug-in hybrid street sweepers will be earmarked for DSNY, “an important step in electrifying the city’s specialized equipment fleet.” 

Adams said the funds will additionally support the first major investment by DCAS in all-electric pick-up trucks and vans. 

DCAS recently registered its first requirements contracts for electric cargo vans, electric pick-ups, and a law enforcement model of the electric pick-up. 

In total, the city operates over 6,000 pick-up trucks and vans, which represent 25 percent of the city’s total on-road fleet. This first order of electric pick-up trucks and vans brings the agency closer to meeting the goal of an all-electric light- and medium-duty fleet by 2035. 

The mayor said the seven all-electric refuse trucks will be the first owned by DSNY following a successful pilot assessment of an all-electric refuse unit. DSNY will test the operation of these trucks citywide. 

He said the funding will also support DSNY’s first order of plug-in hybrids and help the agency assess the efficacy of both plug-in hybrid electric and all-electric sweepers. 

As of September 2022, DCAS reached its 2025 goal of transitioning 4,000 vehicles in the city fleet to electric vehicles — three years ahead of schedule. Currently, the electric fleet includes a wide range of vehicle types and categories from over 200 Ford Mustang Mach Es — most of which are for law enforcement purposes — to nearly 850 GM Bolts. 

DCAS expects to operate over 5,000 EVs by June 2023. The agency has also ordered the first three electric buses for the New York City Department of Correction and is working on EV contracts for box trucks, garbage trucks for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and additional replacements of gas cars with electric models. 

In addition to increasing the EV fleet, DCAS also operates the largest EV charging network in New York State, with over 1,300 charging ports available to fleet units. DCAS will deploy another 600 charging ports in the next 18 months. This funding announced today is supporting the purchase of 315 additional charging units.

“The mayor’s plan to bring all-electric light- and medium-duty fleet vehicles by 2035 is a welcomed one,” said New York State Sen. Roxanne J. Persaud, the Guyanese-born representative for the 19th Senate District in Brooklyn. 

“Replacing fossil fuel vehicles with 1,000 electric vehicles will reduce emissions along corridors in Senate District 19,” she added. “I applaud the strong commitment to cleaner air quality.”

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