A future Amazon delivery center is coming to 1300 Viele Avenue in Hunts Point.
Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
erty Group and Square
Mile Capital purchased the
former site of Whitestone
Multiplex Cinemas at 2505
Bruckner Boulevard in
2018 with plans to develop
a multi level 840,000 square
foot facility for ‘last mile’
deliveries.
A Modell’s Sporting
Goods distribution center
on Bassett Avenue is being
marketed for an e-commerce
last-mile distribution
center, according to another
published report.
MRP Realty and AEW
Capital Management recently
purchased the warehouse
leased by Amazon for
its delivery station on Viele
Avenue, along with a sister
warehouse at 1301 Ryawa
Avenue, for $26 million dollars.
The source at Amazon
said that the company
would be hiring associates
to staff the facility, as well
as employing technology it
uses throughout its distribution
process as it continues
to innovate and invest
in faster delivery.
Once a package arrives
at an Amazon Delivery Station,
of which there are approximately
75 throughout
the country, it is sorted
into routes, that in the of
the case of the Hunts Point
center, will be handled by
drivers who are part of two
programs that help Amazon
deliver packages.
One of the programs is
known as Delivery Service
Partners, a business arrangement
with small businesses
that fulfi ll package
deliveries for the company
using drivers that typically
work a regular weekly four
to fi ve day schedule, said
the Amazon source.
The second program,
known as Amazon Flex, is
for independent contractors
who set their own hours
and can make extra cash,
up to $18 to $25 an hour, delivering
packages, stated
the company source.
Amazon Flex allows
fl exibility to drivers, some
of who may be stay-at-home
parents with children in
day care or school. It also
permits the company to
scale up or down its work
force more easily based on
consumer demand at any
given time.
“These delivery stations
really allow us to speed
up delivery to customers
by putting these facilities
closer to the where the deliveries
are going,” the
source said.
These facilities typically
generate hundreds
of employment opportunities
including full-time and
part-time associates, independent
contractors, and
small-business contractors,
according to Amazon.
The Bronx Chamber of
Commerce’s president, Lisa
Sorin, stated that while
these types of facilities are
not new in the borough,
“this is defi nitely welcomed
news.”
“It means more jobs,
training opportunities and
resources,” stated Sorin,
adding “I choose to see the
good in these projects.”
Sorin also stated that
the traditional “brick and
mortar businesses remain
vital to our borough.”
Various offi cials with
a stake in the Hunts Point
community said they are
still gathering preliminary
information about the plan.
stations after repairs of an
older tunnel damaged by
Hurricane Sandy at the East
River that both Amtrak and
MTA use is fi nished.
The announcement came
on the heels of a visit by U.S.
Senator Charles Schumer
to Co-op City on Friday,
January 18 where he urged
Amtrak to be more fl exible
with the track access fees it
was requesting.
Amtrak owns the rail
right-of-way that the proposed
Metro-North line
would pass over, and the fees
MTA would pay Amtrak had
been the source of a negotiation
impasse, according to
several sources.
Schumer was joined at
the Co-op City press conference
near the Pelham Bay
Rail Bridge, close to the site
of a proposed Metro North
station, by Senator Jamaal
Bailey, Senator Shelly Mayer
of Westchester, Councilman
Andy King and Councilman
Mark Gjonaj.
“Following helpful
clamoring from public offi
cials from the Bronx and
Westchester, that I was proud
to support, I’m so glad that
Amtrak and the MTA have
forged an agreement to establish
an exciting new travel
option for transit-starved
commuters in the East Bronx
and Westchester,” stated
Schumer after the deal was
reached.
The U.S. Senator said its
great news for commuters,
and that they should benefi t
from reduced travel times
and increased reverse commute
options.
Borough President Ruben
Diaz Jr. also hailed the
news, stating it was incredibly
welcome and would allow
the mass-transit expansion
of the four stations to move
forward, something that had
been in question just days before
at the January 18 press
conference.
“Amtrak’s willingness to
negotiate with the MTA will
put the East Bronx Metro-
North expansion back on
schedule and bring us one
step closer to expanded commuter
rail options in the
communities that need them
the most,” said Diaz.
The borough president
added that the agreement
would not have been possible
without the help and support
from Governor Cuomo and
Senator Schumer, along with
“thousands of Bronx residents
and commuters across
the region who spoke up in
recent months to demand delays
cease and negotiations
resume.”
Schumer said that the
MTA and Amtrak may also
seek to improve the Pelham
Bay Bridge, (over the
Hutchinson River) which is
over 100 years old, in order
to accommodate increased
rail traffi c on the new Metro-
North and Amtrak lines.
Councilman Andy King
said that having a Metro
North station in Co-op City
would be incredibly helpful
for working families in
terms of reducing commute
times.
For his constituents, King
said, a new Metro North Station
in his district would
mean “peace of mind, being
able to spend more time
with your family, and being
able to get around without
spending a quarter of a day
on transportation.”
Bailey said that the issue
was one of great importance
because working
people in the community
need more access to reliable
transportation, and that
he was happy a deal was fi -
nally brokered.
“Co-op City is home to
approximately 50,000 residents,
many of whom work
in Manhattan,” said Bailey.
“Currently, there is only one
express bus that provides
Co-op City residents transportation
to and from Manhattan.”
Gjonaj said before the
deal was announced that he
believed that the impasse
was a result of a negotiating
strategy on Amtrak’s part
to maximize what it could
gleam from the deal, and
stressed the importance of
eliminating further delay.
“The lack of reliable mass
transit is a reality for far
too many Bronxites,” said
Gjonaj after the MOU was
announced. “I was proud to
stand with community leaders
and demand that Amtrak
and MTA come back to the
table and fi nd a workable solution.”
“I am greatly encouraged
about the announcement
that Metro North and
Amtrak came to an agreement,”
said Benedetto, adding
that he was grateful for
any intervention that Governor
Cuomo may have provided.
“We look forward to
the building of the four stations,”
said Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto.
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MEMBER:
from Page 1
from Page 1
Metro-North RR settled
Attending a press conference
with U.S. Senator Charles
Schumer who called for Amtrak
rail line access on Friday, January
18 in Co-op City’s Section
5, opposite the Pelham Bay
Bridge for trains and Amtrak’s
rail line, were (l-r) Councilman
Andy King, Senator Jamaal Bailey,
Senator Shelley Mayer from
Westchester county and Councilman
Mark Gjonaj. Schneps
Media / Patrick Rocchio
Amazon’s ‘last-mile’ delivery
station coming to Hunts Point
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