Fresh Direct in Court; Suit Aims to Block Construction of South Bronx Facility
New York Business Journal
By New York Business Journal
The online grocer FreshDirect has long planned to build a new facility and move its operations to the South Bronx, and New York City has approved just under $130 million to subsidize the project, rather than let the company move to New Jersey. However, a group called South Bronx Unite filed a lawsuit in June to block the move, and lawyers for the group, the company, and the government all appeared in court on Monday.
According to DNAinfo New York, the suit alleges that the company used an outdated environmental impact analysis to gain approval for the project, and that the lease for the proposed site, the state-owned and privately-managed Harlem River Yards, has provisions that should preclude building the facility there. The suit also charges that FreshDirect should not have qualified for $19 million of state money because those funds were set aside for manufacturing or agriculture, while FreshDirect is a retail business, DNAinfo said.
