Negotiations on the future of Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market appear to have been put on ice until at least the end of 2013.
According to Matthew D’Arrigo, president of the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative, talks with Michael Bloomberg, the current mayor of New York City, had reached a stalemate. With Bloomberg unable to seek re-election in November, D’Arrigo says it will likely fall on the new mayor to break the current deadlock.
At issue is whether to redevelop the market’s existing facility in the Bronx or move to a new site in New Jersey. With a US$332.5m redevelopment plan agreed in principle between the two sides, the sticking point is the role of the Business Integrity Commission, a city agency tasked with eradicating organized crime. The cooperative accuses the commission of overstepping its remit by attempting to dictate day-to-day operational affairs such as security, sanitation and even opening hours.
“No other market in the US operates under this level of scrutiny,” D’Arrigo tells Americafruit. “We are a private tenant operating on public property, but this does not mean we should be kept by the city.”
He concedes that while a move to New Jersey would free the market from city control and be considerably cheaper than redeveloping it at its existing site, it would present a “tremendous logistical challenge”. Coming up to 50 year old, the market is undoubtedly showing its age and insufficient storage capacity has long been a problem.
“We don’t want to move. It would not be a customer friendly move,” D’Arrigo notes, pointing out that for customers in Queens and Brooklyn it would add at least 45 minutes journey time. “We could potentially lose a lot of business. That being said, a move to New Jersey means we could extend our customer base west and northwards.”
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