Community Board Questions Fresh Direct Deal
Mott Haven Herald
By Anacaona Rodriguez Martinez
Worried members say Mott Haven will suffer
Community Board 1 condemned the deal to move online grocer FreshDirect from Queens to Port Morris without community consultation after a heated debate at its March meeting.
The board passed a resolution authored by board member and activist Mychal Johnson, who charged Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and city and state officials had deceived South Bronx residents by pushing through the $123 million package of subsidies to the company too quickly, without allowing community input or considering the negative effects that added truck traffic and waste could have on Mott Haven and Melrose, which already suffer from some of the country’s highest asthma rates.
The city’s Industrial Development Agency approved the subsidies in February, after New Jersey tried to lure FreshDirect and its 2,000 jobs across the Hudson River.
“We all want our constituents to have the best and not to be dumped upon,” Johnson said, adding he had received confidential data showing that FreshDirect plans 2,000 truck trips per day–far more than the company has publicly acknowledged–once it completes its move to the Harlem River Rail Yards.
