The community is up in arms.
On Thursday afternoon, irate New Yorkers and local politicians gathered in Queens to vehemently oppose a proposed lithium-ion battery storage facility slated for a location perilously close to a school. They accused city officials of discreetly expediting the approval process without proper community consultation.
“This is truly unacceptable,” declared Paul Pogozelski, the rally’s organizer, as around 40 demonstrators assembled near the site designated for the NineDot Energy battery warehouse in Middle Village.
He continued, “While permits were being filed and plans were advancing, our community was told nothing. No public meetings, no notice, no transparency from the company, and no transparency from anyone in this neighborhood. That is not representation. That is silence.”
Pogozelski, a Democrat running for city council and the president of the Middle Village Residents Association, further criticized the project, suggesting that the lucrative profits from the battery storage could lead to increased local prices.
Residents are demanding that the proposed facility at 64-30 69th Place—adjacent to a daycare, preschool, and animal hospital, and directly across from PS 128—be relocated to a site that poses fewer risks to the community.
Protesters also urged both local officials and Brooklyn-based clean energy firm NineDot to be more transparent about the project.
“We’re here to deliver a really simple message that we don’t want a lithium ion battery plant here,” lefty Queens Councilman Phil Wong said.
“All it takes is one incident to burn down this whole neighborhood. We have seen the fires. If you haven’t seen it, go look it up on YouTube. FDNY cannot even put them out. They just let them burn. Please get NineDot to take our empty lot sites and build it there where it’s much better.”
The batteries store energy, primarily from emerging solar and wind power, to help New York meet targets under the much-criticized Climate Act of 2019 approved by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The plan calls for New York to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and have 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040. That state must also generate 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, 6,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2025 and build 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030.
Wong – calling Gotham the “City of Yes” – said officials are not obligated to reveal any details about the proposed project.
“If they have the permits, whether or not they get the permits, who they spoke to, who they hired to lobby with, they don’t have to tell us, because of the City of Yes,” he blasted.
There are currently 74 existing battery storage facilities in the city – 18 each in Brooklyn and Manhattan, 16 in Queens, and 11 in The Bronx and Staten Island, according to the NYSERDA website.
“New York City agencies, in particular, the FDNY, have the most rigorous energy storage permitting regulations in place in the nation. Any claim that we would build anything which is not approved and permitted by the relevant agencies is a total lie,” a NineDot Energy spokesperson said.
“Energy storage makes communities healthier, safer, and cleaner. We understand the concerns that community leaders have raised, and we are working with them on a solution that will best serve Middle Village and the City.”
