Electric vehicles, while around since the late 1800’s, now represent today’s next generation in transportation. Combining cutting-edge technology with environmentally friendly sensibilities, these battery-powered conveyances are slowly but surely being adopted in greater numbers over their internal combustion engine-powered counterparts.
That being said, a large segment of society is still giving the side-eye to EVs for a variety of reasons; some legitimate, but many not. But for those who are still on the fence, a local EV advocacy group – Drive Electric Long Island – cordially invites them to the annual EV Symposium Ride and Drive event at Farmingdale State College on Friday, April 25, where they will be able to listen to experts in the field and actually get hands-on with a number of electrically-powered vehicles to get a genuine feel for them.
Drive Electric Long Island is a coalition of stakeholders in organizations that are interested in promoting electric vehicles; some of their members include the US Green Building Council – LI Chapter, Farmingdale State College, Electrify America, PSEG Long Island, The Sierra Club, Northwell Health, Estee Lauder and Companies, and many others.
According to Rosemary Mascali, Chair of Drive Electric Long Island’s Education Outreach Committee, the organization was originally formed back in 2018, and their mission is to hold outreach events on Long Island throughout the year; these include informative EV 101s at libraries where they educate people on the ins and outs of electric vehicles.
How Drive Electric Long Island also helps to get the word out about EVs is through “EV Ride and Drive” events held at Long Island-based companies and businesses, where during an extended lunch hour, employees can learn about battery-powered cars and take test drives on and around company property. These events are especially popular, and representatives of any mid-to-large size company in Nassau or Suffolk County are encouraged to reach out to Drive Electric Long Island in order to schedule one.
“A lot of companies don’t realize that we can run a free EV ride and drive event for their employees, and it’s an excellent way for businesses to educate their employees on EVs and allow them to get some hands-on use with them, while showing their commitment to sustainability,” Mascali said.
In celebration of Earth Month, these outreach efforts culminate with the annual EV Symposium and Ride and Drive at Farmingdale State College on April 25. The free event is slated to run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. First off is the EV Symposium, which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., where attendees will hear from experienced and expert speakers about electric vehicles and EV charging.
From there, the main draw of the event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with the EV Ride and Drive, which allows attendees to get behind the wheels of EVs spanning multiple well-known makes and models, supplied by a number of local dealerships. During this period of time, the Symposium speakers will be milling about, ready, willing and able to engage with attendees on a one-in-one basis in case they have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Both breakfast and lunch will be made available to attendees on the day of the event.
“This is a great opportunity for people to come and learn about EVs in the morning session, and then at 11:30 they can either talk to some of the speakers in breakout sessions while they eat some lunch, or they can go out and do some test drives,” Mascali said. “In addition, there will be a number of vendor tables from industry and environmental groups that attendees can also visit. And hopefully we’ll have nice weather that day so that people can enjoy their test drives!”
Drive Electric Long Island’s efforts have repeatedly borne fruit; Nassau and Suffolk counties have seen twice the rate in growth in original EV registrations when compared to the whole of New York State, and an increase of 39 percent year over year of EVs on the road, for a current total of approximately 75,000 EVs now on our Long Island roadways.
Drive Electric Long Island does about 40 events every year, so they’re constantly out there getting people excited about EVs, and Mascali noted that the continued success of the tech’s adoption locally could be attributed to a number of unique geographical factors.
“Long Island’s a good market for EVs because 82 percent of the homes here are single-family, which means people can charge at home, and that’s the most convenient and least expensive way to do so…it’s at least half the price of fueling your car at a gas station,” she said. “There’s actually plenty of public charging infrastructure on Long Island, but most people probably won’t need it…you need that more when you go on trips.”
“At home, some people are putting in a line to do a faster charging capability, which is called level two, but I’ve had my EV for almost 3 years now and I just charge it on a regular plug in my garage. But I have a sub-compact car with a smaller battery, so that works for me,” Mascali continued. “The percentage of residences on Long Island that aren’t single-family homes are comprised of condos, co-ops and rental apartments, so for those we are encouraging multi-unit dwelling charging on premises, workplace charging, and public charging stations.”
“Long Island is also unique because its compact geography results in people driving about 40-50 miles per day, easily within the capability of today’s electric vehicles that have ranges in excess of 300 miles,” she said.
Throughout all of their educational and hands-on events held throughout the year – including the upcoming EV Symposium and Ride and Drive – Drive Electric Long Island always follows up with surveys to make sure that they’re getting the word out as effectively as possible, and Mascali notes that they’ve been getting a lot of good feedback on their efforts, and in-turn have bred a great number of converts when it comes to EV adoption.
“Most studies show that once you get behind the wheel of an EV, that makes all the difference,” she said. “Some people get nervous about new technology, but when they get into the car, they realize…it’s just a car. But then they appreciate some of the unique characteristics, such as the acceleration provided by the instant torque, the regenerative braking – when you take your foot off the accelerator pedal, the car slows down and uses that energy to recharge the battery – and overall greater efficiency when compared to gas-powered vehicles.”
To find out more about Drive Electric Long Island, and to schedule a EV Ride and Drive event at your company, please visit https://driveelectriclongisland.org.
To find out more about Drive Electric Long Island’s upcoming EV Symposium and EV Ride and Drive event at Farmingdale State College on Friday, April 25, please visit https://www.farmingdale.edu/events/2025/2025-04-25-ev-symposium.shtml.
