Fresh Direct Defends New Bronx Facility Against Legal Challange
DNAinfo
By Patrick Well
BRONX SUPREME COURT — Lawyers for FreshDirect and several government agencies appeared in court Monday to defend the company’s plan to build a new base of operations in the South Bronx against a lawsuit filed by a group of residents determined to block it.
The online grocer announced its relocation plan, which is set to receive nearly $130 million in public subsidies, just over a year ago, but has had to suspend construction at the Port Morris site while the lawsuit, which was filed in June, is pending.
The lawsuit claims that the plan violates the site’s original lease, that the project was ineligible for certain subsidies it has been offered and that FreshDirect did not properly analyze the potential impact of the planned 500,000-square-foot distribution center and the truck traffic it will create.
