City Plans Delivery 'Microhubs' to Reduce Truck Traffic and Pollution

By Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper

The city took one step closer to cleaner, greener package delivery on Tuesday as the Department of Transportation advanced a delivery “microhub” pilot program.

The hubs would give truck drivers a space to safely transfer their cargo from long-haul trucks to smaller, safer, and more sustainable methods of “last-mile delivery,” including handcarts, electric vans, and e-cargo bikes — hopefully reducing the environmental and street safety impacts of large trucks on city streets.

“Microhubs will offer a more sustainable and efficient way to make deliveries and reduce the number of big delivery trucks on our streets,” said DOT commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, in a statement. “These microhubs will make our streets greener and safer for all New Yorkers and we are excited to launch the first locations in Greenpoint, Clinton Hill, and the Upper West Side.”

The program is part of the city’s overarching effort to bring down the number of delivery trucks traversing local streets. Before the pandemic, roughly 40 percent of all deliveries in New York City were being made directly to residential consumers, according to DOT. Now, that number is 80 percent, and almost all residential and commercial deliveries are made with trucks — which bring with them exhaust fumes and safety hazards.

Brooklynites in areas like Red Hook say the proliferation of delivery trucks has brought exhaust pollution and gridlock to their neighborhoods, and delivery trucks parked in bike lanes or double-parked on local streets create hazards for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. Last year, the city announced plans to open new waterfront shipping hubs in an effort to replace short-haul truck deliveries with a combination of sail freight and eco-friendly last mile delivery, and in April, DOT authorized the use of cargo bikes for deliveries on city streets.

Microhubs are set to open in Greenpoint, Clinton Hill, and on the Upper West Side as part of the three-year pilot program, with at least 20 more set to open during the first year. The rule proposed on September 17 would officially allow the city to establish “microhub zones” on city streets and city property for the duration of the pilot. A public hearing on the rule is set for October 17.

Both hubs currently proposed in Brooklyn would be tucked beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway: one in Greenpoint, on Meeker Avenue between Sutton and Kingsland avenues, and another on Park Avenue in Clinton Hill, between Washington and Hall streets.

The microhubs would be used and operated by interested local businesses, according to DOT, who would be required to transfer their deliveries to greener modes of last-mile transport within the hub itself — not on the street. Over the duration of the program, the city would gather data on the average daily use of the hubs, the types of sustainable last-mile transport used, the number of truck trips replaced by greener methods, and more.

“This promising microhub pilot is part of our comprehensive plan to reducing truck traffic on city streets,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, in a statement. “Our focus is on fostering a safer, healthier environment for New Yorkers, while streamlining the massive surge in online deliveries with lower-impact vehicles. We expect this pilot to yield fewer double-parked trucks and ad-hoc unloading zones, resulting in a more organized curb.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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