The New York City Department of Transportation plans to establish on-street “microhub zones” — two of them in Brooklyn under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway —as part of a local delivery hub pilot to address the negative environmental and public safety effects of truck deliveries, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced on Tuesday.
The three-year microhub pilot program will provide safe, dedicated spaces for truck operators to transfer deliveries onto safer and more sustainable modes of transportation for the last leg of delivery — including e-cargo bikes, handcarts, and smaller electric sprinter vans.
The first five pilot locations will be in Greenpoint, Clinton Hill and the Upper West Side. Each microhub zone will be designated to one delivery company for exclusive use via an annual permit.
In Clinton Hill, the hub will take up part of the block under the BQE on Park Avenue between Washington Avenue and Hall Street. The Greenpoint hub will take up part of the block under the BQE on Meeker Avenue between Sutton Street and Kingsland Avenue.
“New York gets 90% of its freight by truck, which translates to more traffic and worse air. Well placed ‘microhubs’, or drop-off points, allow trucks to avoid traveling further into neighborhoods and commercial corridors, where less intrusive options like cargo bikes can pick them up and take them to their final destination,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi.
“New Yorkers are receiving more deliveries than ever before, and microhub zones will make them greener and safer by reducing the number of big trucks navigating local streets,” said DOT Commissioner Rodriguez. “Big delivery trucks not only present safety risks on busy city streets, but too often they block the flow of traffic on our roads and pedestrians on our sidewalks.”
The rules and the design of the pilot program incorporate feedback from a public comment period and community outreach NYC DOT conducted in 2024. NYC DOT will have the future opportunity to adjust the rules if the pilot moves to a permanent program.
On-street microhub zones will be about 80 to 100 feet in length and located in the curb lane. They will include signs and other markings designating them as microhubs. Space will be available for package sorting and transfer of packages to electric vehicles, cargo bikes, and handcarts. The agency will also install upgraded safety barriers and cargo bike corrals where needed.
Off-street microhub zones will be located on city-owned properties and may include space for vehicles; goods storage; vehicle repairs, maintenance, and/or charging; transloading space for package sorting and vehicle transfer; weather protection, and lighting. The off-street delivery hubs will vary in size based on site location and will be managed by a license agreement between New York City and the respective companies in the pilot.
The pilot will last three years and will eventually include up to 36 locations, both on-street and off-street. Criteria for selecting further sites include nearness to commercial and manufacturing facilities, close proximities to truck routes and transit, areas with a large demand for delivery and more.
Location selection criteria for further sites will include:
NYC DOT will collect data from each microhub at regular intervals to determine the pilot’s success.
Additional details on the pilot program are available in NYC DOT’s Microhubs Pilot report. This pilot program, created in response to Local Law 166 of 2021, is part of DOT’s comprehensive freight strategy detailed in Delivering New York and Delivering Green. For more information, visit nyc.gov/microhubs.
NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced that the agency will establish on-street microhub zones.
