We bring the south bronx together
South Bronx Unite brings together neighborhood residents, community organizations, academic institutions, and allies to improve and protect the social, environmental, and economic future of Mott Haven and Port Morris.
“Not One More Truck…”
In 2012, South Bronx residents faced yet another assault on our quality of life.
New York State and City granted over $130 million in taxpayer subsidies to FreshDirect, an online grocer, to relocate their diesel trucking warehouse to the South Bronx waterfront.
This decision meant an influx of 1,000 diesel truck trips through our community every day.
Not one more truck, we demanded.
Enough is Enough.
Our community is an epicenter for environmental injustice and broken promises.
Decades of policies have encircled our two-square-mile community with three highways and five bridges, and zoned our neighborhood for 850 acres of industrial contamination.
We also have one of the lowest per capita rates of access to green space.
As a result, the South Bronx has some of the highest asthma-related death and disease rates in the country.
Now, the City and State were incentivizing even more pollution.
We Came Together to Stop Fresh Direct
We sued the City and FreshDirect, challenging their reliance on a 1993 environmental review, decades out of date, to assess the impact their trucks would have on our health.
Supported by expert testimony and backed by 50 organizations, we demanded a modern environmental impact statement.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, the court ruled in favor of the City and FreshDirect, citing the old review as sufficient.
We lost that battle, but it gave birth to South Bronx Unite.
We Imagine a Different Future
Over a decade later, we continue to fight for the South Bronx.
Our work has expanded to include air quality monitoring, public health equity, green space advocacy, and community-driven development. We work to empower our community to have a voice in how our land is used, how our environment is treated, and how we can all thrive together. We imagine a neighborhood where, instead of pollution and truck-heavy industry, we have more parks and green spaces.
Instead of unaffordable, rising rents, we demand safe, dignified housing for the people who built this community against the odds. Instead of a cycle of poor education and a lack of job prospects, we empower our neighbors with skills to succeed in the coming green economy.
Our story began with Stop FreshDirect, but it’s far from over.
Here’s How We’re Fighting, and How You Can Join
See More Past Work
