North Hempstead to install 58 electric vehicle charge stations across town

North Hempstead residents who drive electric vehicles will soon have options to charge them in town.

The town approved building and operating 58 electric charging stations at 12 locations. The board voted 7-0 last week to approve the $447,740 contract with Schenectady-based Lynkwell, a deal to be funded by a New York State Community Resiliency, Economic Sustainability and Technology grant.

Deputy Supervisor Joe Scalero said the stations will likely provide an environmental benefit.

“There’s been, in recent years, an explosion of people who, for environmental reasons, are leaving gasoline-driven cars and choosing to go to battery cars,” Scalero said in an interview. “You need a place to charge.”

The number of public and private electric vehicle charging ports in the United States increased from 5,070 in 2011 to 184,098 in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Scalero said the stations should be installed and set up by spring. Town officials said there are currently no town-operated stations in North Hempstead. 

The town has not finalized the locations, but Scalero said they will be placed mostly within North Hempstead's 15 parking lots and 24 public parks with parking lots. Scalero expressed hope that the stations would encourage residents to visit the town’s shopping areas and parks.

The town's previous agreement to build electric charging stations, with Blink, would have paid the town 25 cents on the dollar. But the town never built a station under that agreement, officials said. The new contract will see North Hempstead bring in 91 cents on the dollar.

“We’ll have the charging stations that people will like, at locations across the town, and we have a very, very good sharing agreement with the company, for the revenues,” Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said during the Dec. 9 board meeting.

Mariann Dalimonte, the councilwoman representing Port Washington, requested during the meeting that the town not install the stations too close to businesses and people’s homes to prevent light pollution.

“They leave their lights on, and those lights are now shining on people’s businesses," Dalimonte said. "We have to make sure they’re not shining into businesses that are open at that time, and also households.”

Once the stations are installed, officials said, the town will receive a $200,000 grant from PSEG to build additional stations.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.