The Long Island Family Festival in Copiague will feature an electric vehicle showcase on Sunday, Sept. 14, where potential buyers can hear firsthand experiences from EV owners and learn about incentives.
The event runs from 12 to 4 p.m. at Tanner Park in the senior center parking lot. It’s one of many ways the nonprofit coalition, Drive Electric Long Island, is spreading the message about the benefits of EV ownership.
“We do a lot of events around Long Island to help educate Long Islanders about the benefits of driving electric vehicles, what it's really like,” said Rosemary Mascali, chair of Drive Electric Long Island Education & Outreach Committee. Efforts take many forms, from EV 101 held at libraries each month to ride and drives, such as one offered recently for Town of Babylon employees.
What’s coming up on Sept. 14 is not a road test, but a showcase featuring EV owners and their cars. “People can see the cars, talk to the owners about why they picked that particular car, what it's really like to drive an EV, answer your questions, and then we'll be there with our tent with our table with information about incentives and basics about EVs,” she said.
Mascali notes that this event is taking place at a pivotal time because the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases expires on Sept. 30. But ordering an EV before that date puts the buyer in line for this reward. Other remaining financial incentives include a New York State rebate of up to $2,000 and rebates on charging equipment from PSEG Long Island, she said.
Mascali, who herself drives an EV, cited some facts that might be overlooked, such as EVs’ instant torque for fast acceleration when getting on highways or passing a vehicle. The electric motor is also quieter than a gas-powered car. Besides saving on fuel, EVs often mean fewer brake jobs and therefore savings. That’s because they are equipped with regenerative braking, she said, where the car starts to slow down simply when one’s foot comes off the accelerator. “You can always hit the brake, but you don’t need to oftentimes,” Mascali said.
A common concern about driving an EV is the ability to charge it. “We point out that Long Island is a great market for EVs because we have about a million homes on Long Island and 82% are single family,” she said. “So, charging your car is a lot like charging your phone. You just come home and plug it in.”
The geography of Long Island also supports EV ownership. As Mascali explained, “We're a compact geography so most Long Islanders travel 40 to 50 miles a day because most of us live and work on the island. And most EVs today are 250 to 300 miles of range with some going over 500 miles of range.”
EV owners enjoy savings on fuel obviously but also maintenance costs, with one study estimating approximately $5,000 in operating savings over 10 years depending on vehicle model and size.
Mascali’s advocacy for sustainable transportation goes back almost 20 years when she worked to promote use of mass transit for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). “Then I started this Sustainable Transportation Committee for the U.S. Green Building Council, and as part of that committee, which is now Drive Electric Long Island, we looked at all kinds of sustainable transportation and ways to improve our air quality and reduce greenhouse gases,” she said.
Each summer emphasizes the need to improve air quality. As Mascali explained, “Our air quality on the island is an F. You notice this summer there were a lot of ozone alert days. That's mainly because we have 2.3 million cars on the island because we have a lot of people.”
While carpooling and mass transit are all ways to make a difference, she said, “converting to electric vehicles is probably the easiest thing we can do on the island. If every household did one of their cars as electric, that's a million cars and that's huge impact on air quality.”
The island is making some progress in this direction, climbing from 8,000 plug-in hybrids or full EVs in 2018 to 81,000 such vehicles today—a tenfold spike, according to Mascali.
Another event to learn more about EVs will be Sept. 21 from 10-2 p.m. at the United Way of Long Island, next to Tanger Outlets in Deer Park. This day of clean energy features another EV showcase, information on clean energy like solar panels, children’s activities, live entertainment, free giveaways and more.
For further details check out the website.