News Release

Floyd Bennett Field to host electric vehicle charging and energy storage pilot

Date: November 22, 2023
Contact: Daphne Yun, 917 282 9393

Brooklyn, N.Y. - A temporary electric vehicle (EV) charging station and energy storage unit is now available for use in Gateway National Recreation Area. Part of a citywide pilot program, the park's first public EV charging station is located at Floyd Bennett Field in Gateway NRA’s Jamaica Bay Unit.

The public can purchase 15-minute sessions with the Level 3 DC fast charger unit, which offers up to 180 miles of range for a typical passenger EV. There are few charger units within a 10-mile radius, so this adds another option for drivers. This unit also offers backup power for resilience and distributed energy storage and can provide power for streetlights and other onsite loads in the case of a grid failure or blackout.  

Floyd Bennett Field served as New York City’s first municipal airport and played an important role in the history of early aviation. Over ninety years after the first flights departed Floyd Bennett Field, this pilot project is continuing the park’s history of pioneering technological advances by demonstrating novel energy storage and EV charging technology.  

Gateway is supporting this project in partnership with Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy—an official philanthropic partner of the park—and the Resilient Energy Studio—an urban energy storage pilot program run by Newlab in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Con Edison. The goal of the Studio is to cultivate local energy storage capacity and innovation in New York City. Five companies were selected to run pilots and technology demonstrations across the city, with Gateway serving as a site for one of these pilots in partnership with the resilient energy infrastructure startup ElectricFish Energy, Inc. 

About Gateway National Recreation Area

A large diverse urban park spanning two states, Gateway combines recreational activities with natural beauty, wildlife preservation, military history and more. Visitors can hike, picnic, swim, sunbathe, bike, visit the oldest lighthouse in the nation, see an airplane collection and camp overnight, all in the New York metropolitan area. Gateway is one of the ten most visited national parks in the country. For information about Gateway's upcoming public programs, see the park's website at www.nps.gov/gate.