On Tuesday a city agency approved an $84 million subsidy package
to help FreshDirect move from its Long Island City headquarters to
the Bronx, up from the initially proposed $74 million, according to
published reports. The decision was passed 14-1; a representive for
City Comptroller John Liu cast the dissenting vote.
The Industrial Development Agency’s decision brings the total
amount of money that FreshDirect will receive from the city to
nearly $130 million, a figure which includes subsidies, tax breaks
and loans.
Liu released a statement on Tuesday explaining his opposition to
the plan.
“For the cost of this benefits package, the city could give
4,385 students full, four-year scholarships to CUNY or hire 1,458
new teachers or pay 350,000 GED test-prep programs or launch a
micro-lending program for minority and women entrepreneurs,” Liu
said. Referring to both the Economic Development Corporation’s
promised $100 million loan to Cornell University for its proposed
school on Roosevelt Island, as well as the FreshDirect deal, Liu
added: “The cost to the City is $93,000” for each new job that will
be added by the organizations.
FreshDirect, which employs over 2,000, said it will add 1,000
new jobs by 2020.
But some labor groups as well as residents in the Bronx are
questioning the value of these jobs. One group, calling itself
South Bronx Unite! Stop FreshDirect, released a statement that
noted the company has no obligation to create the number of jobs it
says it will, or to hire people from the South Bronx.
The release also cites the dearth of fresh food options in the
area where FreshDirect’s facility will be, pointing out that
FreshDirect doesn’t deliver to the South Bronx or accept food
stamps. Additional concerns center on the air pollution that will
be created by the company’s fleet of delivery trucks.
Watchdog group Good Jobs New York pointed out in a statement
that the company has a history of friction with its workers:
efforts to unionize have been rebuffed, for example. The company
has numerous labor complaints filed against it, according to GJNY,
which questioned whether the new jobs would be quality ones worth
the city’s massive subsidy package.
