Pollution-cutting measures at Hunts Point food distro center could be at the whim of the presidential election
City and State New York
by: Liya Cui
Food security for an entire region comes at a high price, and the community surrounding Hunts Point has been paying it.
“We have no illusions that the largest food distribution market in the country will be moved, so how can we make sure that at least the operations are less harmful to people living in the community?” said Arif Ullah, executive director of South Bronx Unite, a social and environmental justice advocacy group. “One important way to do that is through getting these operations off of fossil fuels.”
The distribution center is not the sole destination for diesel trucks in the neighborhood of 13,000 residents, where 40% live below the poverty line and roughly 95% identify as Hispanic or Black. Around 15,000 trucks drive each day over the highways that encircle Hunts Point, delivering to the produce market, a water treatment plant, waste facilities, recycling yards and a growing number of shipping warehouses.
Diesel exhaust is particularly harmful to human health due to the fine particulate matter linked to cancer, respiratory illnesses and heart disease. The air in Hunts Point had an annual mean of 6.2 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter, compared to 5.8 micrograms across New York City, according to a 2022 survey by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
