Battery energy storage facilities continue to be developed across Southeast Queens despite residents’ safety concerns.
Nine Dot Energy, a Brooklyn-based energy company, is developing four separate battery energy storage facilities in Hollis, South Ozone Park and St. Albans. The facilities use lithium-ion batteries to capture energy from the grid, which is then discharged when there is high demand for power.
Residents are concerned about the potential danger of the storage facilities. Thermal runaway, which can lead to overheating and fires, represents the biggest threat.
“If there is a fire, we are all dead,” said Jeanne Ramlakhan, a resident from Hollis whose house is located only feet away from a proposed site.
Nine Dot says the maintenance of the storage facilities will be remotely operated. Ramlakhan said that “if it’s not dangerous they should put their own workers there and if it has to blow up, let them die too.” She is steadfast in her opposition, stating that there will be “absolutely no negotiation, we want it to stop.”
Residents are demanding that the storage facilities be relocated to industrial areas.
“We’re not saying no to renewable energy, but it cannot be next to residents’ homes,” said Amit Shivprasad, a Hollis resident.
Battery energy storage facilities have been operating in New York City since 2019 and there has not yet been a safety incident. However, fires have broken out at facilities in upstate New York and on Long Island. In January, a battery fire in northern California led to mass evacuations and concerns about air and soil contamination.
Sam Brill, Nine Dot Energy’s vice president of strategic development, emphasized that the FDNY’s strict regulations ensure the safety of the storage facilities. He claimed that the FDNY’s high standard of regulation “is not the case in other parts of the country,” insisting that “they will not let us build it until they determine that it is safe.”
Battery energy storage facilities are intended to strengthen the power grid during extreme heat events. According to a statement on Nine Dot’s website, the facilities reduce reliance on fossil fuel power and enable greater use of renewable energy.
A statement on Nine Dot’s website claims that “Battery projects built locally, near where electricity is consumed, can help alleviate congestion and make sure people have access to cleaner electricity.”
Brill stated that “Con Edison identified certain parts of Queens as being particularly in need.”
But residents also are concerned that the hum from the storage facilities will cause noise pollution.
“They create noise above the level that is acceptable in residential neighborhoods,” said Bill Scarborough, president of the Addisleigh Park Civic Association.
Residents are worried, too, that the facilities may increase the cost of fire insurance and diminish their property value.
Jasmine Lawrence, whose Addisleigh Park home is directly adjacent to a proposed facility on Linden Boulevard, said, “I worked too hard to save this property for my children.”
Nine Dot sued Lawrence and her husband Kevin over their refusal to allow access to their property during the development of the proposed site.
“We were incensed,” said Lawrence. “That took a lot of nerve from them.”
The Lawrences and the Addisleigh Park Civic Association have since filed a joint counterclaim against Nine Dot.
“Our hope is that they will deny them access and take it somewhere else,” said Lawrence.
The initial case, Urban Future Clean Energy LLC versus Kevin and Jasmine Lawrence, appeared in Queens County State Supreme Court on Sept. 30 and has been adjourned until Nov. 18.
The counterclaim is expected to be heard Nov. 18.
Nine Dot began developing the four proposed sites in Southeast Queens in early 2025, but none are operational yet. Residents feel aggrieved that they were not consulted in advance.
“They never came to the community board,” said Shivprasad. “They should have … respect.”
Brill claims that Nine Dot has been fully transparent and approached various community representatives in advance of the development.
“We’ve been reaching out to this community for so many months,” he said.
Community members, however, continue to feel overlooked.
“These individuals who represent Nine Dot, they don’t live here in our community,” said Aracelia Cook, president of the 149th South Ozone Park Civic Association.
Andrea Scarborough, Bill’s wife, is skeptical of Nine Dot’s claimed good intentions, saying that “as far as they’re concerned, they’re helping us, but they’re [really] helping themselves — reducing costs and increasing profit. It all comes down to greed, to the green bill.”
Many residents blame the City of Yes zoning initiative, claiming that it allowed the storage facilities to bypass community review, though it only dates to last year.
“The city has allowed these companies to run roughshod over communities in the name of clean energy,” said Bill Scarborough.
The storage facilities are being built as of right under zoning rules and therefore do not require community approval.
Nine Dot notes that the sites were approved even before City of Yes came into effect.
“It has had no impact on our ability to build this site,” said Brill.
Nine Dot’s only operational city locations are in Staten Island and the Bronx. The development of sites in Middle Village and in Marine Park in Brooklyn has been delayed by ongoing community opposition.
The City Council’s Committee on Fire Emergency and Management has scheduled a public hearing on BESS facilites for Oct. 28, which many concerned residents hope to attend.
The Southeast Queens Environmental Justice Coalition has been organizing protests at the site of one of the proposed developments, on the corner of Linden Boulevard and 179th Street at the border of St. Albans and Jamaica.
The Republican mayoral candidate, Curtis Sliwa, has made regular appearances at the protests.
“He’s the only guy that’s been to every one of these rallies,” said Shivprasad.
At a protest in September, Bill Scarborough said, “It’s our lives that are at risk. They’re taking a gamble with our lives.”