Eva Pilgrim: Welcome back to GMA3. Another apartment fire in New York City in the Bronx over the weekend claimed a man's life. The reason for that fire, a lithium-ion battery. The batteries found in popular items like e-bikes and e -cooters are blamed for over 200 fires here in the city last year, and more than 30 so far just this year.
DeMarco Morgan: And joining us now in studio is the mayor of New York City. New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: Good, good to see you.
Morgan: Good to see you, and thanks for being with us.
Mayor Adams: Thank you, thank you.
Morgan: Before we talk about the dangers and how to keep New Yorkers safe from the dangers that are lurking in our devices, let's talk about this potential threat for violence in Lower Manhattan, a possible indictment awaiting former President Donald Trump. He's called on his supporters to protest. Should New Yorkers be concerned, and what do you have in place to keep New Yorkers safe?
Mayor Adams: Well, when you look at... First of all, it's irresponsible for him to use those type of comments. And the district attorney's going to do his job; NYPD is going to do their job. And there's one thing we know about the city: anytime there are issues or concerns they deploy the right personnel. And I have the utmost confidence in Commissioner Sewell to do that.
Pilgrim: Are there any plans to shut down Lower Manhattan or the area on Fifth Avenue around Trump Tower? If, and that's the big if, if he's indicted?
Mayor Adams: Right, I was just about to say that. You read my mind. There's a lot of speculation of the NYPD. They have deployment plans under all circumstances. These guys, they do tabletops, they do mobilization plans. They are prepared. They're the best at dealing with whatever scenario. We don't know what is happening, there's a lot of speculation. Let the DA do their job, we are going to be ready to do ours.
Morgan: And Eva just mentioned there have been more than 30 fires caused as a result of lithium-ion batteries. What is the city doing to fix this and prevent these fires?
Mayor Adams: And you could actually see the trend in numbers. When you go back to 2020, we had 44. In 2022, we had 220. The numbers are increasing, and it's not only a local level but it is a national issue. And so I have to take my hat off to Commissioner Kavanaugh who brought this to my attention. She brought in a video that actually showed what happens when one of these batteries ignites. It's an explosion. And normally when people bring home their batteries of their bikes or their mobile transportation, they leave it by the door. These fires explode and block your...
Morgan: Exit.
Mayor Adams: ... exit. Or if you're in public housing, you'd leave it in the hallway. So what we're doing, we are having three levels of approach. Number one, we're going to increase the level of enforcement to make sure those who are actually charging these batteries illegally and in danger, we're going to give them in order to cure the problem. And if not, we're going to come back and handle it with some form of citation.
The second is that we are going to have people encourage people to exchange the batteries, those illegal batteries. They should have the UL code, or make sure that they're the real, legitimate batteries. And third is our goal to do education. Many of our deliveries, those who are getting those deliveries when you order today? They use the mopeds, the scooters, and those other items. So we want to approach this on three levels. And lastly, get the federal government on board.
Morgan: Any advice for those who want to store their bikes and electrical devices? Don't do it by the door.
Mayor Adams: A great question.
Morgan: Where should you store it?
Mayor Adams: A great question. Number one, not near your door. Try to do it outdoors. When you plug it up to charge it, plug it up in the wall, not those little strip devices that people use and they sometimes have multiple items.
Morgan: Extension cords.
Mayor Adams: Exactly, extension cord. Don't charge overnight, because people charge and they go to sleep and they leave it overnight. So don't charge overnight. There was one video I saw of a fire in the Bronx. The camera was on it, and it was just chilling. The gentleman walked towards the bike, and he saw that it was starting to burn. And he went to get water, all of a sudden was an entire explosion inside there. Fortunate for him, he got out. It burned down two stores. But this is a real issue, we must educate people.
Morgan: All right. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, thank you again.