Congressman Dan Goldman Urges New York City Economic Development Corporation to Prioritize Cold Storage Capabilities for New Pier 11 Anchor Tenant

Cold Storage in Red Hook Marine Terminal Necessary to Accommodate Storage of Fresh Produce Before Distribution to Brooklyn and Beyond

Absence of Cold Storage Capability at Marine Terminal Requires Produce to be Shipped out of New York for Storage before Being Shipped Back for Distribution

Exacerbates Traffic, Diesel Truck Pollution, Erosion of Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and Heightens Pedestrian Safety Concerns

Read the Letter Here 

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) with New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes, New York State Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and New York City Councilmember Alexa Avilés wrote a letter to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) urging them to select a sublease proposal at Pier 11 of the Red Hook Marine Terminal that will include cold storage capabilities near the Red Hook Marine Terminal. 

The Red Hook Marine Terminal piers accept domestic and international freight for distribution across the tri-state area, especially Brooklyn. Currently, fresh produce shipped into the Red Hook Marine Terminal must be transported by truck to locations outside of New York City where it can be refrigerated. Once the produce is ready for distribution, it is oftentimes transported right back into Brooklyn, increasing the necessary truck traffic for any perishable cargo. 

“The future of Red Hook Marine Terminal must be one that protects New Yorkers, mitigates exacerbated safety risks, and supports good-paying maritime jobs in Brooklyn,” the lawmakers wrote. “As outlined on your website, one of the four governing strategies of the NYCEDC is to 'deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city’s future economy.' We believe that the addition of cold storage at the port will both satisfy that strategy and add value to the site. To that end, we urge you to prioritize applications that include such accommodations for tenancy at Pier 11.” 

The Red Hook community is disproportionately affected by this lack of cold storage. The current situation leads to increased traffic in and around Red Hook, increases diesel pollution from the truck deliveries, accelerates the erosion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and heightens safety concerns for pedestrians. 

Congressman Dan Goldman is committed to fighting for environmental justice across New York City. 

In February, Goldman joined Councilmember Alexa Avilés to call on New York City to pursue an environmental assessment of last mile delivery hubs and excess truck traffic in Red Hook and Sunset Park. 

In March, the Congressman hosted two town halls that brought the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to the table to hear and consider input from coastal communities that will be impacted by planned USACE climate resiliency projects in Gowanus, Red Hook, and Lower Manhattan. 

Congressman Goldman is a member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. 

Read the letter here or below: 

Dear Mr. Kimball, 

As you review submissions to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Pier 11 Anchor Tenant sublease request for proposal (RFP), we write to strongly urge you to select a proposal that will include much-needed cold storage near the Red Hook Marine Terminal. 

The maritime industry in Red Hook is vitally important to the economic health of Brooklyn and the larger New York City (NYC) area. As both a metaphoric and physical gateway to the city, the piers at Red Hook Marine Terminal accept domestic and international freight for distribution across the tri-state area, especially Brooklyn. Unfortunately, as you know, the current port infrastructure in Red Hook is aging, inefficiently used, and in some cases, outright decrepit. With this RFP, NYCEDC has the opportunity to reimagine the industrial maritime footprint in Red Hook with the goal of catalyzing blue highway freight efficiencies and reducing the insidious truck pollution that disproportionally harms the health and well-being of vulnerable communities in Red Hook and beyond. 

As we understand it, the current infrastructure at Red Hook Marine Terminal cannot accommodate the storage of the fresh produce it brings in, necessitating shipment of it by truck to locations outside of NYC where it can be refrigerated while awaiting distribution—often right back into Brooklyn. This process entirely defeats the environmental benefits of the blue highway. This continuous truck traffic to and from faraway cold storage is profoundly wasteful and needlessly harmful to residents of Red Hook. 

In addition, it exacerbates the dire environmental justice concerns in our communities by clogging residential streets with heavy trucks, spewing diesel pollution into a neighborhood where air quality is consistently worse than NYC averages and upper-respiratory illnesses are more prevalent, adding to the erosion of the already vulnerable Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), and posing safety risks for our constituents on small side streets which were built to accommodate passenger car, bike, and foot traffic but not commercial truck traffic. In a study conducted by the Guardian and the Consumer Reports, they found that more than 1,200 trucks and vans drive daily on Van Brunt Street, a narrow but heavily frequented corridor lined with parked cars and shops. Since 2020, there have been 35 truck crashes in Red Hook, resulting in over 50 injuries. 

We owe it to our environmental justice communities — such as Red Hook —to take action whenever possible. The availability of Pier 11 presents the ideal opportunity to establish an adequate cold storage facility at the Red Hook Marine Terminal that would immediately and simultaneously reduce the volume of truck traffic plaguing the neighborhood and eliminate severe supply-chain inefficiencies. 

The future of Red Hook Marine Terminal must be one that protects New Yorkers, mitigates exacerbated safety risks, and supports good-paying maritime jobs in Brooklyn. As outlined on your website, one of the four governing strategies of the NYCEDC is to “deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city’s future economy.” We believe that the addition of cold storage at the port will both satisfy that strategy and add value to the site. To that end, we urge you to prioritize applications that include such accommodations for tenancy at Pier 11. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

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