Infrastructure bill nets $110M for Hunts Point Market in Bronx

The bipartisan infrastructure package signed by President Biden in November will secure $110 million for the redevelopment of a sprawling produce market in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office said Friday.

The funding for the Hunts Point Produce Market will help make the facility more eco-friendly, adding electric vehicle charging stations and about 800,000 square feet of refrigerated warehouse space topped by solar panels or a green roof, according to Schumer’s office.

The 112-acre, half-century-old produce market is a key cog in New York’s food supply chain that offers work for thousands of employees. It provides about an estimated 25% of New York City’s produce, according to Schumer’s office.

Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), a Bronx progressive, celebrated the procurement of the cash, presenting it as a major moment in the modernization of New York’s northernmost borough.

“These funds will help increase food security, meet growing food demands, maintain and produce new good-paying jobs, reduce diesel emissions, and so much more,” Schumer said in a statement.

Torres said in a statement that federal investment is “crucial to keep up with demands and bring the market into the 21st century.”

“Revitalization of the market will support food infrastructure while also creating union new jobs, reducing emissions, and increasing food security,” Torres crowed in the statement.

The $1 trillion infrastructure package passed the Senate in August and the House in November.

Schumer and Torres have joined in pushing multiple projects for the Bronx, including money for a pollution-fighting plan to cover portions of the Cross Bronx Expressway with a deck park and greenery.

The Transportation Department grant for the Hunts Point Produce Market is the largest grant so far secured from the Bronx as a result of the infrastructure law, Schumer’s office said.