The Town of North Hempstead’s “Power Up in a Park Initiative” will see 30 new electric vehicle charging stations installed in seven community parks, officials announced Tuesday.
North Hempstead has only eight public electric vehicle chargers. Under the initiative will 30 level 2 chargers will be installed in seven Town parks. These can give a vehicle 20-30 miles of range per hour of charge.
The parks being considered include the Michael J. Tully Park in New Hyde Park; Clinton G. Martin Park in New Hyde Park; Town Dock in Port Washington; North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington; Mary Jane Davies Park in Manhasset; Clark Botanical Gardens in Albertson; and The Yes We Can Community Center in Westbury.
The investment represents a big step forward in the availability of public charging stations on the North Shore. State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Port Washington) obtained a $500,000 grant to assist the project move forward.
“There are more electric cars on Long Island roads than ever before,” said Kaplan. “But, there has never been any significant investment in public charging stations for drivers in our community to use.”
Even after considering the electricity consumed for charging, electric vehicles often have a lower carbon footprint than gasoline-powered vehicles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of an electric vehicle are also fewer than those of a typical gasoline-powered vehicle.
There are 15,535 electric vehicles on the road in Nassau County, per state data. New York City aims to have 20% of new vehicle registrations be for electric vehicles by 2050.
Town councilmembers Veronica Lurvey, Mariann Dalimonte and Peter Zuckerman, along with elective vehicle drivers, joined Kaplan at the Clinton G. Martin Park to make the announcement. The speakers thanked Kaplan for pursuing the endeavor.
“Adding these EV charging stations to our parks is a natural fit and will hopefully encourage more people to make the switch, knowing that expanded access is on the horizon,” said Lurvey. “This is a model of sustainability and resiliency that we hope other towns on Long Island can follow, too.”
