VIDEO: Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Thursday aimed at getting dangerous lithium-ion batteries off the streets and out of homes.
According to FDNY data, this year alone in the city there have been 110 investigations connected to lithium-ion battery fires that resulted in 50 injuries and one death.
Hochul, who was joined by FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh and other city and state leaders, put pen to paper and turned eight pieces of legislation into law.
"These batteries don't catch on fire like kindling. They explode like a grenade," Hochul said. "Greedy manufacturers put profit over safety and flood the market with cheap, malfunctioning batteries. Here in New York, that ends today." The legislation prohibits the sale of batteries not up to manufacturing standards, requires retailers to provide manuals for the batteries and requires training materials for first responders for incidents involving the batteries.