Trucks Worry Civic Association

At the start of the Red Hook Civic Association’s February meeting at P.S. 15, Neighborhood Coordination Officers Krystal Class and Vegnel Jovin from the 76^th Precinct announced that they’d distributed flyers to local truck drivers to inform them of Red Hook’s designated truck routes. For large vehicles, New York City’s official truck route map limits the neighborhood’s through-traffic to Van Brunt Street, Beard Street, Halleck Street, Bay Street, Clinton Street, Delavan Street, Hamilton Avenue, and small portions of Columbia Street and Court Street.

Now, said Class, the next time the NYPD notices trucks elsewhere in Red Hook without a good excuse (such as a delivery), the drivers won’t be able to plead ignorance. Some residents, however, complained that the problem isn’t only the location of the trucks; it’s the size.

New York City prohibits 18-wheelers — trucks with 53-foot trailers — from traveling on city streets, restricting them to I-95, I-695, I-295, and I-495. For deliveries throughout the city, businesses must use “single-unit vehicles” (trucks without trailers) that are shorter than 35 feet or “multi-unit vehicles” (trucks with trailers) that are shorter than 55 feet from bumper to bumper. Nevertheless, trucks whose sizes exceed these regulations make their way onto surface roads, rattling the foundations of Red Hook’s aging housing stock, according to one local.

Class and Jovin appeared unaware of the law. John McGettrick, the president of the civic association, mentioned that, although the rule often goes unenforced, some police precincts have cracked down on 18-wheelers — specifically, the Fifth Precinct in Manhattan, which has sought to address the problem on Canal Street.

The abundance of trucks in Red Hook has been a longstanding complaint at the civic association, but it’s an especially important issue right now because the developer Thor Equities announced in February that it would build last-mile distribution warehouses on its 660,600-square-foot lot at the bottom of Richards Street, scrapping earlier plans for an office park for tech companies.

Projects of this kind have become popular in Red Hook lately. McGettrick said that traffic from e-commerce warehouses would “impact this community in a negative way if there are not reductions.” Renae Widdison from Councilman Carlos Menchaca’s office acknowledged that “last-mile delivery is a new, unique, very intense use” and stated that the city councilman is examining possible legislative solutions or updates to the Zoning Resolution.

Trucks came up again when a homeowner came to the front of the auditorium to discuss a new building planned for the lot directly adjacent to his 100-year-old wooden house on Dwight Street, which falls within an M1-1 manufacturing zone. At 151 Dwight Street, a plumbing company has submitted a design for 90-foot-tall facility, with a ground floor that will be used for truck parking.

“We’re worried for our home,” the man said, citing the possibility of “extensive damage” during construction of the 52,000-square-foot building. He praised the “mixed use and small scale” of the Red Hook streetscape, noting his belief that residences can coexist with warehouses and factories if zoning regulations protect the light and air.

But he explained that, since the Flood Resilience Zoning Text Amendment after Hurricane Sandy established provisions to elevate first-floor manufacturing on New York City’s floodplain to a safer height, certain industrial structures have grown upward in recent years. As the homeowner (who is an architect) explained, the same regulations that grant manufacturers additional floor area ratio in order to move their operations above flood level also permit them to use their ground floors for parking, which incentivizes the construction of trucking facilities in Red Hook. The man emphasized that, while he’d like to protect his own property, he hopes the neighborhood will take note of an issue that could affect others, too.

Before the meeting, John McGettrick distributed an electronic petition that asks the Department of Buildings to rescind any permits for 151 Dwight Street, warning of the possibility of “soil contamination” on the site (currently an empty lot, formerly a junkyard), danger from “construction vibrations” to nearby properties, and “traffic and safety concerns” on the “very narrow street,” which already serves as a bus route and a bus stop.

Brett Yates