New York City just opened its largest city-operated public EV charging site. The new Forest Park EV Charging location is expected to serve many residents and visitors in the area.
It has ten fast chargers at Forest Park in Queens. The site sits near the George Seuffert, Sr. Bandshell. It opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
At first glance, ten chargers may not sound like a major transportation project. However, this site addresses one of New York City’s biggest barriers to EV ownership: many drivers do not have a driveway, garage, or private parking space.
That makes Forest Park more than another charging station. It is a test of how cities can place public infrastructure where people already spend time.
Forest Park puts EV charging inside an existing trip
The new station operates daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Drivers can use a charger for up to 60 minutes.
The pricing is also designed to keep public charging affordable:
- 30 cents per kilowatt during off-peak hours
- 35 cents per kilowatt during peak hours
The off-peak discount does more than help drivers save money. It can also encourage people to charge when electricity demand is lower.
That matters as cities electrify more cars, taxis, delivery vehicles, and municipal fleets. Charging demand will grow. Therefore, pricing can help manage when drivers plug in.
The location matters just as much as the price.
Forest Park already attracts visitors for recreation, walking, sports, events, and community activities. Drivers can charge while they enjoy the park. They do not need to make a separate trip to an industrial area or a highway service plaza.
That is the same “charge while already parked” principle we have followed in our coverage of public Level 2 EV charging funding in New York, workplace charging, and solar carports.
Good infrastructure fits into daily life.
Why public charging is essential in New York City
Home charging remains the easiest way to charge an EV. A driver can plug in overnight and start the next morning with a full battery.
Unfortunately, many New Yorkers cannot do that.
More than half of city residents do not have access to a driveway or garage where they can install a private charger. Many residents park on the street. Others live in apartment buildings with limited electrical capacity or no assigned parking.
For these drivers, public charging is not a luxury. It is the foundation of EV ownership.
That makes Forest Park an urban charging-equity project. It gives apartment residents, renters, and street parkers another way to own and operate an electric vehicle.
The city still needs more curbside and neighborhood Level 2 chargers. Those stations can support longer parking periods and routine charging. Fast chargers serve a different purpose. They help drivers quickly add range during a work shift, a park visit, or a busy day on the road.
New York needs both types.
The rideshare opportunity is enormous for this Forest Park EV Charging Station
The most important part of the Forest Park project may be its connection to Queens’ rideshare and taxi drivers.
Officials said more than one-third of the Taxi and Limousine Commission’s 180,000 drivers live in Queens. Many of those drivers travel long distances each day.
That makes electrifying their vehicles a high-impact climate strategy.
A high-mileage rideshare vehicle can burn much more gasoline than a typical commuter car. Replacing that vehicle with an EV can therefore eliminate substantially more fuel use and tailpipe pollution.
The city’s Green Rides initiative aims for all rideshare trips to take place in zero-emission or accessible vehicles by 2030. Charging access will determine whether that goal succeeds.
TLC Deputy Commissioner James DiGiovanni called Forest Park an ideal place for Queens-based drivers to charge before, during, or after a shift.
That is a practical observation. A driver may not have time to wait at home. A driver may also need a reliable charging location near the neighborhoods where they live and work.
A park can provide that space while also offering a place to rest.
Ten Forest Park EV chargers are progress, but not the finish line
DCAS provided $2.7 million for the project. Con Edison added $472,000 through its New York Power Ready program.
This public-utility partnership offers a useful funding model. Cities do not need to place the full cost on taxpayers. Utilities also benefit from supporting a more prepared electric grid.
Still, the scale requires an honest assessment.
DCAS now has 451 fast chargers across the city. Most serve New York’s own electric fleet. That municipal investment matters. Fleet electrification reduces government emissions. It also gives the city experience with procurement, maintenance, electrical upgrades, and charger management.
However, only 26 DCAS chargers currently operate as public-use chargers. The agency plans to add 34 more public chargers over the next 18 months.
That gap shows the challenge clearly. A city can have hundreds of chargers and still leave many residents without convenient access.
The city fleet is the training ground. Public access is the next step.
New York should continue using its fleet projects to build technical knowledge and electrical capacity. Then it should open more of that infrastructure to residents, workers, taxi drivers, and visitors.
Accessibility must remain part of the design
Two of the ten Forest Park chargers are designed specifically for accessibility.
That is an important improvement. Accessible charging spaces need enough room for mobility equipment, safe paths, appropriate controls, and clear access from the parking area.
At the same time, two accessible chargers out of ten should be viewed as progress rather than a completed solution.
Cities should track how often accessible chargers are occupied. They should also enforce proper use and design future stations around the full range of drivers with disabilities.
An EV transition cannot be equitable if drivers with mobility limitations cannot use the charging network.
Parks can become climate infrastructure
Parks may seem like unusual locations for fast chargers. In reality, they often meet several important siting criteria.
People already visit them. Parking areas may remain in use for an hour or more. They often have lighting, road access, public visibility, and nearby community services.
That does not mean every park should receive a charging hub. Cities must protect trees, open space, historic features, and pedestrian safety.
However, existing parking lots and developed areas can offer strong opportunities. Forest Park shows how a city can add charging without creating an entirely new destination.
The same logic applies to libraries, universities, municipal garages, community centers, and public lots. New York’s recent public charging investment recognizes this broader opportunity.
The best charger is often the one located where a driver already needs to go.
Reliability will determine whether drivers return
A charger must do more than appear on a map.
Drivers need equipment that works, clear pricing, simple payment, accurate availability information, and responsive maintenance. If a rideshare driver arrives during a shift and finds a broken charger, the problem affects income as well as convenience.
Our coverage of J.D. Power’s public charging study and IONNA’s performance makes the same point: reliability shapes the driver experience.
Forest Park should therefore become a model for performance reporting. The city should publish uptime, utilization, wait times, maintenance response, and charger accessibility data.
Those metrics can help officials decide where to place the next 34 public chargers.
The national lesson from Queens
The Forest Park station offers a playbook for other cities:
- Use public land that already serves residents.
- Place chargers near destinations people already visit.
- Combine fast charging with longer-duration Level 2 charging.
- Price electricity clearly and use off-peak rates to manage demand.
- Design accessibility into the project from the beginning.
- Prioritize high-mileage drivers, including taxis and rideshare operators.
- Share costs among public agencies, utilities, and other partners.
- Measure reliability after the ribbon cutting.
That last point matters most.
A ribbon cutting marks the beginning of a public service. It does not prove that the service works well over time.
Forest Park is a meaningful step for New York City. It makes EV ownership more practical for residents without home charging. It supports Queens’ taxi and rideshare workforce. It connects clean transportation with a public green space.
Most importantly, it demonstrates that charger placement is an urban-planning decision.
Cities do not need to treat charging as a detour. They can place it where people already park, work, shop, visit, and take a break.
That is how ten chargers can matter more than they look.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to QNS reporter Shane O’Brien for documenting the Forest Park ribbon cutting. We also acknowledge DCAS, NYC Parks, Con Edison, the New York Power Ready program, and the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission for providing the project information and public policy context.
