A new program will help improve air quality in the Bronx.
The New York City Department of Transportation recently announced the 500-truck milestone for the Hunts Point Clean Trucks Program, an initiative that has resulted in significant environmental benefits.
Since its launch in 2012, the program, which was funded primarily through a Federal Highway Administration Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant, has resulted in the replacement, retrofit and retirement of 500 older heavy-polluting diesel trucks with 2010 and newer EPA emission compliant diesel-hybrid, compressed natural gas and diesel Class 3 to diesel Class 8 trucks.
The Hunts Point Clean Truck Program is on track to award nearly $15 million to fleet vehicles that either reside in or do business regularly within Hunts Point, which equates to an average rebate of $30,000 per truck, based on the size and age of the truck, as well as the type of technology chosen for the new replacement vehicle.
The truck program has significantly helped reduce pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, achieving the goal of minimizing the pollution generated by older diesel trucks, some more than two decades old.
The program was originally an outgrowth of the Hunts Point Vision Plan, which formed in 2003
The program aimed to address critical issues facing the peninsula, the origin or destination of 15,000 daily truck trips to the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center.
“These 500 new trucks are one more step towards a cleaner and greener Bronx, and are an important part of the continued push to improve the environment and the health of Hunts Point and its residents,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.
“The (Hunts Point Clean Truck) program has addressed issues involving air pollution in an area and a borough that has among the highest rates of asthma in the country,” said Dr. Ian Amritt, Community Board 2’s chairman for the last five years.
“It’s great to have the businesses in this area (Hunts Point) support this initiative,” he added.
