TENAFLY— Electric vehicle owners in Tenafly now have more places to charge their cars, thanks to the town’s new EV charging stations. On Oct. 30, Mayor Mark Zinna and Councilwoman Dr. Julie O’Connor led a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Washington Street lot to mark the official launch of Tenafly’s public EV charging infrastructure.
“We now have six Level 2 chargers installed in Tenafly, with more on the way,” said Zinna. Locations include:
- 100 Riveredge Road: Four 10kWh Level 2 ports and two 150kWh Level 3 ports.
- 10 Riveredge Road: Two 10kWh Level 2 ports.
- Washington Street lot: Four 10kWh Level 2 ports.
The chargers are equipped with Wi-Fi and LTE cellular connectivity to make them user-friendly.
O’Connor, who spearheaded the project as chair of the Tenafly EV Charging Station Committee, announced plans for a second phase. “We’ll soon be installing fast chargers in the municipal lot at 100 Riveredge Road, which will allow cars to charge in less than an hour. Power will be delivered to that site shortly,” she said.
The EV charging initiative began several years ago when O’Connor and her committee issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking partners to provide chargers at no cost to taxpayers. Jersey City-based Greenspot, a company focused on expanding electrification infrastructure, responded to the RFP and successfully implemented the project. Using incentives from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and PSE&G, Greenspot covered the costs without burdening taxpayers.
“About 8.5% of all cars in Bergen County are electric vehicles, and that number is growing,” said Manuel Kelnar, Greenspot’s director of sales. The charging stations are already seeing usage, with Level 2 chargers costing drivers approximately $15 per session and taking a few hours to charge. Level 3 chargers, which will be added soon, will offer faster charging.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony at 33-99 Washington Street was attended by a host of local officials and community leaders, including Councilman Venu Menon, Borough Administrator David Fanslau, CFO Susan Corrado, and Olga Milanos, chair of the Tenafly Environmental Commission. Representatives from Greenspot, including COO Joe Desimone, also joined the event.
During the ceremony, Cole Touey presented Mayor Zinna with a letter of recognition from Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s office, highlighting the significance of this initiative.
“This is the culmination of over four and a half years of work by my committee and me,” said O’Connor. “It’s exciting to see EV charging stations finally come to Tenafly.”
After the ceremony, Greenspot’s director of operations, Max Limone, demonstrated how to use the chargers by powering up a Tesla.