Wildflower to build New York City’s largest charging hub

According to a press release from the city of New York, the site will be located in the NYC borough of Queens, near the JFK airport. It should be operational by 2025. The city further estimates that about 1,000 EVs per year will charge there. The statement also emphasises that all types of EVs can plug in at the location, but that there is a ” focus on the electric truck market.” But it does not go into further detail.

Wildflower is a New York City-based developer of urban infrastructure for sustainability. It was chosen by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to set up the charge park. The latter will span a 2.3-acre land parcel between Nassau Expressway and Rockaway Boulevard and will be accessible 24/7.

“Wildflower’s electric vehicle charging development is a prime example of how committed New York City is in meeting our goals in the Green Economy Action Plan while positioning the city as a global model in sustainability and carbon neutrality,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “This development represents a unique opportunity to transform a manufacturing-zoned property into the city’s largest electric vehicle charging station and we look forward to working with Wildflower on the transformation of this space and providing the community with much-needed parking space.”

“We are working to get New Yorkers into more sustainable forms of transit, but for those who must drive, we want them to drive electric,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson. “These EV charging stations help with that goal and get polluting trucks – which disproportionately burden Black and Brown communities – off our streets. 90% of goods destined for New York City are transported by truck and almost all the trucks are diesel-powered, which is why we need infrastructure that animates the clean truck market, especially in environmental justice communities in and around Jamaica, Queens.”

New York City just recently announced other infrastructure projects for electric cars and trucks. Earlier this month, EV infrastructure startup Gravity opened its flagship Midtown Manhattan EV charging centre to the public. It offers 24 charge points with 500 kW each, installed in a parking garage on West 42nd Street. Moreover, the Big Apple received 15 million dollars from the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program to “help build a groundbreaking, freight-focused electric truck and vehicle charging depot at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, the busiest heavy trucking destination in New York state.” The latter is located in the Bronx.