NYC major promises $140 million for Hunts Point Produce Market

New York City plans to invest $100 million in it Hunts Point Produce Market in the South Bronx. On top of that, the city plans to invest another $40 million in the surrounding neighborhood.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the Hunts Point investment on March 10 when he announced his Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery plan during a market tour and news conference.

“We will support the redevelopment of the Hunts Point Produce Market, recognizing its vital role in the food supply chain that employs thousands of New Yorkers and supplies 25% of the city’s fresh produce,” reads a city publication on the plan.

The largest share of the promised funding is expected to be used to improve infrastructure at the Hunts Point Produce Market. The other $40 million is expected to be used to improve surrounding infrastructure and neighborhood parks.

“This is an amazing gem that we have in this city,” Adams said during the media tour, according to a city transcript. “It has been ignored. All we have to do is just give it a little polish, a little love, a little care, and it will shine for many more generations to come.”

The mayor’s economic recovery plan includes 70 actions divided into five strategies for economic growth.

The Hunts Point area is home to the largest fresh produce wholesale distribution facility of its kind in the U.S., according to the city plan.

An investment in addition

Previous to the mayor’s announcement of funds for the market, last spring the second phase of a project to improve interstate access to the Hunts Point area was officially launched. The second phase includes improvements to the Bruckner Expressway and Bruckner Boulevard.

The access plan was unveiled in spring 2017. The first phase began in late 2019. A third and final phase is scheduled to be completed in 2025, according to the New York Construction Report.

When complete, the project will provide direct access to Hunts Point. More than 78,000 vehicles travel daily to the Hunts Point peninsula of the Bronx, according to the New York State Department of Transportation.

The produce market was built in 1962 on 40 acres. Since then, it has now grown to 113 acres and employs about 3,000 workers, according to The New York Times. Many of the market’s buildings are more than 50 years old.

Besides the produce market, the Hunts Point neighborhood also is home to the Hunts Point Cooperative Meat Market and the New Fulton Fish Market.

Last fall, The New York Times’ Corey Kilgannon reported that the market moved about $30 million of produce on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, traditionally the market’s busiest day of the year.

Last fall, a newspaper serving the produce industry called The Packer reported the market was built with railway logistics in mind before 53-foot trailer trucks existed. Traffic at the market is heavily congested.

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