Some Opposed to Fresh Direct’s Planned Move to The Bronx
NBC News
By NBC News
Some Bronx community members are expressing reservations about the plan to bring online grocer FreshDirect to the Harlem River Yards in the South Bronx.
Local residents and group leaders announced Monday they planned to lead a rally against the construction of a new 500,000-square foot facility on a 16-acre parcel in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
"The proposed project would bring more heavy diesel truck traffic to our already high asthma-inflicted communities... and fails to guarantee any new jobs, much less living wages, for South Bronx residents," said Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York, a local advocacy group that gathers information on economic development projects in New York City.
The rally was scheduled to happen before the Industrial Development Agency's vote Tuesday on a proposed $80 million New York City subsidy package for FreshDirect. FreshDirect, currently headquartered in Long Island City, Queens, was enticed to a bigger space in the Bronx thanks to an incentive package totaling over $100 million.
