Traffic & Transit Big E-Commerce Keeps On Truckin’ In Red Hook, Ban Unlikely: DOT As Red Hook’s streets fill up with Amazon and other delivery trucks, transportation officials said a requested moratorium is a no-go. Reply
(Scott Anderson/Patch)
RED HOOK, NY — A demanded halt on e-commerce facilities pumping trucks and smog into the streets of Red Hook streets isn’t likely after city officials ruled there wasn’t law to back it.
In a response letter sent last week to concerned members of Community Board 6, transit officials offered other consolations to locals’ concerns about traffic congestion and poor air quality — like traffic studies and sustainable vehicle alternatives.
“[We] believe we lack a legal platform for imposing the moratorium that you have proposed,” Transportation and Planning department officials wrote.
Officials offered alternative solutions like a cargo bike program to encourage last-mile delivery by low- or no-emission vehicles. The city will also support businesses’ use of water freight options in lieu of trucks, officials said. The Transportation in March launched a study on Red Hook’s traffic patterns that focuses on the impact on a huge number of warehouses and distribution centers.
Red Hook has become a “major transfer hub for deliveries,” and particularly for Amazon, which has opened two facilities in just two years in Red Hook with plans to open a third, according to a recent report by Consumer Reports and the Guardian.
The neighborhood is also home to a UPS distribution center and PANYNJ container port, according to the Transportation department.
“We are committed to working diligently to support a multi-pronged solution that balances Red Hook community needs while supporting the City’s economic competitiveness,” officials wrote. Community Board 6 District Manager Michael Racioppo said the response was appreciated, but swift action is urgently needed.