About DOT
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2024
Contact: (212) 839-4850, press@dot.nyc.gov
Grant Marks a Significant Milestone in the City’s Ongoing Efforts To Enhance Urban Freight Mobility and Sustainability
First-in-Nation City-Led Urban Freight Lab Will Be Dedicated to Innovating and Improving Urban Freight Logistics To Transform the Future of Freight Movement in New York City
NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced today that the city received a $5.6 million federal grant from the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. This funding will be used to create an Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative (UFC), an innovation hub designed to revolutionize urban freight movement and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions — the first of its kind in the United States.
The NYC DOT UFC will establish a series of public-private partnerships and engage with community, industry, and academic partners to significantly decarbonize the freight sector. The mission of the UFC is to mitigate the negative impacts of freight movement, targeting a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2032.
“New York City is prepared to transform our freight sector to meet the 21st century and our changing climate while getting back to our roots – with a working waterfront across the city,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “I want to thank our partners at the White House and USDOT for continuing to invest in NYC’s greener freight systems. With more than 90 percent of NYC’s freight moved by truck, this Urban Freight Collaborative is critical to foster public-private partnerships that will shift our freight distribution to more sustainable methods, delivering our blue highway, cargo bike deliveries, electric trucking, and future innovation.”
“I am proud to support New York City’s new and exciting Urban Freight Mobility plan to mitigate the air-pollution impacts of freight movement by significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, which also exacerbates asthma in many communities,” said Senator Chuck Schumer. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Law I led to passage included substantial federal funds for the RAISE program to help pay for projects like this Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative to accelerate carbon emissions reduction and pave the way for a cleaner, healthier future for our city and our kids. This $5.6 million federal investment will help Mayor Adams’s administration modernize freight movement to make it greener, sustainable, safe and efficient, lessening its impact on the environment and our communities.”
“New York City is pioneering sustainable urban development and transportation solutions, and we are incredibly excited about this grant and the opportunities it brings,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “The Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative will not only reduce emissions but also enhance the efficiency and sustainability of freight movement across New York City and the region. Through innovative projects and collaborative efforts, we aim to create a more livable, equitable, and environmentally friendly urban environment for all residents. We thank the Biden administration for its support to advance this important work.”
The UFC willdevelop buildable short-term project designs in five priority areas, focusing on environmental justice neighborhoods and Industrial Business Zones (IBZs). Emerging technologies and strategies, such as micro-distribution centers (microhubs), common-carrier lockers, commercial cargo bicycles, micro-mobility solutions, medium and heavy-duty electric freight vehicles, and new waterborne freight infrastructure, are some of the pilot projects that will be researched and improved under the UFC.
The initiative will emphasize interagency and private data collection, the development of a comprehensive freight modeling tool, and leverage robust community engagement strategies to ensure inclusive participation. The foundation laid by the UFC is poised to significantly enhance the city's sustainable delivery and logistics efforts, setting a new standard for urban freight management.
The Urban Freight Lab will build on the city’s efforts to reimagine its freight delivery network, restructure freight distribution, and create a sustainable last-mile delivery system, for getting goods where they need to go safely and efficiently. In March, the agency authorized the use of e-cargo bikes on city streets to make deliveries safer and more sustainable. The agency is also working to install delivery ‘microhubs,’ where trucks can safely offload to smaller, greener delivery modes like cargo bikes, handcarts, and electric vans. Additionally, through the Blue Highways program in coordination with EDC and regional partners, the city is working to reactivate marine infrastructure helping to shift deliveries from larger trucks to our waterways.
USDOT RAISE Grant Program
The USDOT RAISE grant is a prestigious and long-standing program focused on enhancing surface transportation infrastructure. The city's award showcases the effectiveness and dedication of the Federal Infrastructure Funding Task Force, which has successfully secured $730 million in previous competitive awards, including:
- $7.25 million for Filling the Gaps: NYC’s Greenway Expansion Plain in 2022
- $25 million for NYCHA’s Safe Access for Electric Micromobility at NYCHA campuses in 2023
- $20 million for Broadway Junction Pedestrian capital improvements in 2023
NYC DOT’s UFC proposal submitted in 2023 received high ratings from USDOT, and its selection underscores the strength and necessity of the initiative.
“By securing funding for the Urban Freight Lab, New York City is advancing the fight against climate change while promoting economic activity,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “Establishing an urban freight lab will improve the efficiency and resilience of New York City’s supply chains while improving the health and quality of life of environmental justice communities.”
“Many congratulations to Commissioner Rodriguez for securing this $5.6 million federal grant that will help stand up NYC DOT’s Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative and work to achieve even lower freight sector carbon emissions,” said State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud. “We can reduce carbon while still ensuring that small businesses can remain competitive, local grocers’ shelves remain stocked, and households can receive packages, large and small.”
“The burden of pollution and safety challenges caused by heavy truck traffic continues to affect the Bronx. Children in the Bronx consistently have the highest rate of asthma compared to other boroughs and the highest emergency department visit rates for asthma in low-income zip codes. The climate emergency is impacting our community's health right now, and courageous decisions on programs and policies that address this urgent issue are crucial,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera, 33rd District, The Bronx and Chair of the Health Committee. “I applaud this funding and congratulate the New York City Department of Transportation for creating the Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative, an innovation hub to revolutionize urban freight movement in our city.”
“This grant will allow us to develop actionable, innovative, equity-centered low and zero emission freight delivery strategies so our industry can continue delivering the essential goods New Yorkers need, while also helping the state reach its clean energy goals,” said Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York (TANY). “Through this effort, we will pioneer crucial innovations that will create a blueprint for New York - and the country - to make our supply chains more efficient and resilient, while also decreasing our collective carbon footprints.”
“As a partner and fellow urban freight collaborator, we are thrilled to see NYC DOT receive a USDOT RAISE grant to launch a new Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative. NYC is leading by example in reducing the impact of freight delivery on city streets by promoting greener and more efficient truck deliveries, expanding the use of waterways, railways, and cargo bicycles for goods movement, and fostering new technologies to make freight movement more efficient,” said Dr. Anne Goodchild, professor and founder of the Urban Freight Lab at the University of Washington. “At the Urban Freight Lab at the University of Washington, we have seen firsthand how collaborative efforts across sectors and with the community yield innovative solutions that provide significant environmental and operational benefits. We look forward to sharing insights with our partners in NYC and working together to develop urban freight systems that improve equity, tackle climate change, and improve livability in our cities.”
“Freight transportation is a nightmare for emissions and a 365-day-a-year public health hazard for environmental justice communities that are most impacted by last mile facilities. We congratulate the NYC DOT on their $5.6 million federal grant and we look forward to seeing the innovation and ideas it helps unleash, which will not only improve New York’s approach to freight transportation, it’ll provide sustainable models for cities across the country to adopt,” said Alia Soomro, deputy director for NYC Policy at the New York League of Conservation Voters.
“We are thrilled that the NYC DOT has been awarded the funds to create an Urban Freight Collaborative. Net Zero Logistics, the NYC DOT, and the Adams Administration share a common goal of reducing congestion, adding jobs, and decarbonizing the final mile. As an active member of the Urban Freight Lab at the University of Washington, we have benefited from benchmarking urban freight best practices, leveraging collaborative opportunities, access to innovative solutions and data, and policy development." said Mark Chiusano, CEO, Net Zero Logistics. "This collaboration promises lasting benefits and is a significant win for NYC."
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