FreshDirect bagged another victory Thursday when a panel of state appellate court judges in Manhattan tossed a lawsuit meant to stop the online grocer’s move to the South Bronx.
A coalition of community groups known as South Bronx Unite filed the appeal last November alleging that the city did not conduct an adequate environmental review of the grocer’s planned relocation to an area plagued by pollution and commercial traffic.
“We’re disappointed, but not disheartened,” said South Bronx Unite member Mychal Johnson.
The lawsuit cited the likelihood of increased asthma in Port Morris and neighboring Mott Haven, and claimed that FreshDirect is inappropriately receiving more than $ 120 million in public subsidies.
Johnson and his fellow South Bronx Unite members argued that the move would also violate a lease agreement between the state and Harlem River Yards, which stipulated that the proposed FreshDirect site be used for railroad transportation.
Thursday’s decision upheld a Bronx judge’s rejection of a similar suit filed by South Bronx Unite last year, which argued that a 20-year-old environmental review was outdated.
“The courts have now said on multiple occasions that we can move forward with our move to the Bronx,” FreshDirect Co-Founder and CEO Jason Ackerman said in a statement after the announcement. “Our focus now turns to building our facility and making good on the promise of creating jobs and economic activity in the Bronx.”
FreshDirect representatives have promised the 500,000-square-foot headquarters and its fleet of delivery trucks will be eco-friendly, in addition to adding 1,000 new jobs to the borough over the next decade.
Johnson, one of nine protesters arrested at an anti-FreshDirect protest last Saturday, said the group will file a second appeal, hoping to drum up more interest among local officials. Mayor de Blasio spoke in opposition to the project during his election campaign.
“This shows even more why the mayor needs to step in and end the tale of two cities scenario that exists here,” Johnson said.
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-South Bronx) used his vote on the N.Y. Empowerment Zone to stymie a $ 3.5 million portion of the subsidies.
But the project has drawn major support from Bronx politicians including Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
“My office has, since day one, understood that this project is crucial to the future economic health and vitality of the Bronx,” Diaz said. “I am glad to see that the continued legal efforts to stop this critical project have been thoroughly dismissed.”
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