The city has delivered a sweet deal to FreshDirect.
The Industrial Development Agency voted Tuesday in favor of the online grocer’s controversial plans to relocate from Long Island City to the Bronx — thanks to $127 million in public subsidies.
The company has promised to use the money to build its new facility in the South Bronx, convert its truck fleet to green energy, and to hire local workers. A spokesman for FreshDirect told residents the move to Port Morris would create 1,000 new jobs over 10 years, a third of which were promised to go to borough residents.
The company will also expand its deliveries to residents of the long-underserved borough.
“The city’s partnership has been instrumental in helping us remain a New York City-based company that provides good jobs for the residents of the five boroughs,” FreshDirect CEO Jason Ackerman said in a statement.
Critics said the $127 million in tax incentives amounted to a sweetheart deal, but FreshDirect sought to counter that claim by providing a breakdown of the giveaway:
n Roughly $74 million of $127-million package comprises real estate tax abatements over the next 25 years. The current lot does not contribute to the city tax rolls so Fresh Direct was able to claim, “There is no additional cost to taxpayers.”
n Another $18.9 million are a direct subsidy from the city to create the 1,000 jobs. The company claimed it would not receive “a single dollar” until it meets “certain benchmarks.”
n The remaining $25 million will subsidize construction of the new facility, which will also result in construction jobs.
RELATED: BRONX BOARD APPROVES FRESH DIRECT MOVE TO PORT MORRIS
The city vote came less than 24 hours after the City Planning Commission approved the grocer’s modified plans for the vacant Harlem River Yards along the South Bronx waterfront.
The project is now expected to be approved by Mayor Bloomberg.
Opponents have railed against the corporation’s move citing high asthma rates in the area, environmental concerns, and the low wages of jobs promised by the company.
South Bronx Unite, a coalition of FreshDirect foes, sued to block the grocer’s expansion plan, but that suit was dismissed. The group is appealing.
“The health and quality-of-life impacts of this project will be severe,” said Gavin Kearney, an attorney for the group. “The vague promises of jobs and clean trucks made to justify this massive hand-out are just that-promises made to put an appealing public relations veneer on a rotten proposal.”
City Controller John Liu, a mayoral candidate, joined South Bronx Unite, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and Good Jobs New York in rallying against the decision.
“New York City needs jobs, particularly in the Bronx,” Liu said. “But this is a wasteful way to do business that picks taxpayers’ pockets in order to reward fat cats.”
Mayor Bloomberg, he added, has doled out “hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate welfare to companies that fail to deliver on their promise of jobs for New Yorkers.
“We have no reason to believe this will be any different,” Liu added.
