⚡🔵 Revel Opens Fast Charging Station In Long Island City
NYC TLC Chair David Do, along with other City leaders, help Revel officially open third public Superhub in NYC. LIC Superhub has 14 fast charging plugs providing 150 kW speeds, considered “ultrafast”
***The following is an official press release from Revel***
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** November 1, 2023
Contact: Robert Familiar, press@gorevel.com
REVEL, BP RICHARDS OPEN LARGEST EV FAST CHARGING STATION IN QUEENS
Borough President Donovan Richards, TLC Chair David Do, Queens Chamber President Tom Grech and others helped mark the opening at a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier today.
With 14 ultrafast plugs, Revel’s LIC Superhub can give an EV 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.
Long Island City, Queens — Today, Revel, the Brooklyn-based EV infrastructure and rideshare provider, opened its first public electric vehicle (EV) fast charging station in Queens. The LIC Superhub is located in the accessory garage of the JACX, a 1.2 million square-foot mixed-use development in Long Island City. Revel was joined by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Do, Queens Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Tom Grech, and ConEdison’s Director of E-Mobility Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud at an official ribbon-cutting ceremony of the LIC Superhub earlier today.
Located at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Jackson Avenue, and close to the Taxi & Limousine Commission’s main driver support center, the LIC Superhub will be particularly useful to New York’s taxi and rideshare drivers transitioning to electric vehicles, including those mandated under the City’s new Green Rides Initiative. It is Revel’s third public Superhub in New York City.
“As Revel continues expanding our network of public fast charging, we are making it easier for all drivers — especially TLC-licensed drivers — to transition to zero-emission electric vehicles,” said Frank Reig, Co-Founder & CEO of Revel. “Thank you BP Richards, Commissioner Do, our partners at Tishman Speyer and Con Edison, and everyone who supported the opening of the LIC Superhub, our first public fast charging station in Queens. Together, we’re helping New York City achieve a cleaner future through EVs.”
“I'm thrilled to celebrate the first public fast charging station in Long Island City alongside Revel, which promises to be a great addition to our borough's sustainability progress,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “We're adding to our goal of building a greener and more resilient Queens by going from one of climate change’s biggest victims to becoming a hub of sustainability and carbon neutrality through programs like the Champlain Hudson Power Express, through leading the city in solar panel installations, through net-zero communities like Arverne East and now through powering the electric vehicle revolution.”
“We’re thrilled that Revel has just opened up a fast-charging site near TLC’s main business hub,” said Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Do. “Only two weeks ago, the Commission voted unanimously in favor of the electrification of the city’s rideshare fleet by 2030. Infrastructure like this, strategically located near areas where TLC drivers work and live, is exactly what will support our Green Rides initiative. We look forward to more superhubs, which will help power us towards a cleaner, healthier, and more accessible city.”
Revel is the leading provider of public EV fast charging in New York City. Like Revel’s other Superhubs — the flagship Superhub in Bedford-Stuyvesant and the South Williamsburg Superhub opened earlier this year — the LIC Superhub is open to the public 24/7, capable of fully charging an EV in minutes not hours, has no parking fees or other paywalls to enter, and is equipped with both CCS and NACS plug standards. The LIC Superhub has 14 fast charging plugs providing 150 kW speeds, considered “ultrafast” charging that can supply an extra EV with up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.
Revel is expanding its public fast charging network to more than 300 plugs across New York in the next year. The company will develop the first public fast charging stations in the Bronx and Harlem, and bring more sites to Queens, Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. Those sites include two 60-plug Superhubs, which will be the largest public fast charging stations in the Western Hemisphere. Later this year, Revel will expand its Superhub model to the Bay Area.
Revel is also the operator of the nation’s first and only all-electric, all-employee rideshare service. Revel has over 500 EVs — including Tesla Model Ys & Model 3s and Kia Niro EVs — delivering rides citywide, to parts of northern New Jersey, and to-and-from the three major NYC airports. Revel employees over 1,500 drivers, who are W2 employees with access to benefits like health care, paid time off and 401(k) retirement planning. Revel expects to employ over 2,000 drivers by early next year.
The JACX is located at 2807 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101.
“We are delighted to be here today with Revel, as they open the largest electric vehicle fast charging station in Queens. Our borough is home to the largest number of taxi and rideshare drivers in the city, and this investment from Revel is vital to their economic well being. We look forward to Revel's continued investment in our borough, which will help drivers reduce their environmental impact and save money on fuel costs,” said Thomas J. Grech, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
“NYLCV applauds Revel for opening their latest electric vehicle fast charging superhub in Long Island City. New York City needs a robust fast charging network so New Yorkers — most of whom can't charge at home — know they can switch from fossil fuel powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles. By providing fast-charging stations across the city that are accessible to any EV, Revel is helping ensure we can meet Mayor Adams’s goal to electrify the for-hire vehicle sector by 2030 and that the infrastructure is in place to support the broader EV revolution,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
“The ready availability of ultrafast charging stations is critical to accelerating sustainable transportation,” said Tishman Speyer Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainability and Building Technologies, Jonathan Flaherty. “We are pleased to partner with Revel to install Queen’s largest public charging hub at The JACX. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this initiative will further enhance the quality of life for Long Island City’s residents and businesses.”
“Con Edison believes that every New Yorker can share in the benefits of a clean energy future,” said Jen Hensley, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Con Edison. “We are thrilled to support Revel’s expansion of fast chargers through our PowerReady program. Con Edison is making significant investments in the infrastructure needed to accommodate increased demand from electric vehicle charging and heating, and new sources of renewable energy as New Yorkers reduce their reliance on fossil-fuels. Projects like this make charging an EV fast and easy, so every New Yorker can participate in the clean energy transition.”
“Empire Clean Cities is thrilled to see Revel open its first public charging station in Queens. Hastening the transition from fossil fuel powered vehicles to electric vehicles, the LIC Charging Station will support a mode shift for rideshare drivers and others that will reduce greenhouse gasses and other toxic vehicle emissions and improve air quality and public health for all New Yorkers. Congratulations to Revel and all those who helped make this charging station possible,” said Joy Gardner, Executive Director of Empire Clean Cities.
About Revel
Revel is bringing the infrastructure and services needed to go electric. The company is the leading provider of public electric vehicle fast charging in New York and the operator of the city’s only all-electric, all-employee rideshare fleet. Over the next year, Revel is expanding to over 300 public fast charging plugs across New York City, including the first in the South Bronx, Harlem, Lower Manhattan and more. Learn more at gorevel.com.
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Revel will have 2k drivers early next year looks like they are going to take over from Uber.
What a ripoff. What this article was missing was how much REVEL will be charging for the use of their Superhub. According to Revel’s website they charge 49¢ per kWh. NYS/NYC sales tax is 4.35¢ per kWh (8.875%) and a combined Federal excise tax and surtax fee is 3¢ per kWh for a total of 56.35¢ per kWh. A basic 2022 Tesla 3 rear-wheel drive has a range of 272 miles (Tesla website) and requires a total of 70 kWh to fully charge the battery (Energysage.com). So, in order to charge this particular EV it will cost you about $39.45. Considering you only get a 272-mile range for that price, this comes out to 14.5¢ per mile.
A conventional (non-hybrid) Toyota Camry (2022 model, front wheel drive) will get you about 35 mpg combined city and highway mileage. Considering gasoline is about $3.57 per gallon now, the dollars per mile fuel expense for this gasoline powered vehicle is 10.2¢ per mile. These numbers, of course, change for Toyota Hybrid vehicles, which can fetch as much as 50 mpg and would bring the cost per mile even lower.
You are basically paying 42% more per mile to fuel an electric vehicle if you charge at a Revel Superhub versus driving a gasoline-powered Toyota Camry. You also only get a range of 272 miles with the Model 3 RWD whereas with the Toyota it’s possible to be at about 595 miles on a full tank (17 gallons).
You will, of course, have to wait about 30 minutes to charge your Tesla 3 after you have driven to one of the very few Superhub charging stations now currently available. This, too, will take time and you better hope there is no line at the Superhub once you arrive. It goes without say (with the exception of the CBD in Manhattan), gasoline stations are everywhere in NYC and rarely is there a wait for a gasoline fill-up that will take about 1/10th of the time to charge an EV and you get at least double the mileage range per fill-up.
In my view, this is a ripoff for drivers however Revel is smart to provide these Superhub stations as they will be massive profit centers for them and their investors. Unless drivers have chargers at home, using these Revel Superhubs will be a costly and time consuming headache. Good luck, independent EV drivers.