By Irene Plagianos

The small waterfront community of Red Hook, in Brooklyn, is home to a cruise terminal, a 346,000-square-foot Ikea store and one of two Tesla showrooms in New York City.

Some residents say they have managed to coexist with a variety of large commercial footprints but have concerns about two future neighbors. Amazon.com Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc. both have plans for package-and-delivery hubs in the area to keep up with skyrocketing e-commerce demand. Other package-distribution sites in the area could be on the way, according to local elected officials.

"Industry is not something we are afraid of in Red Hook, but the last-mile delivery is a whole other issue," said City Councilman Carlos Menchaca, a Democrat who represents the neighborhood and is a longtime resident. "There's real terror about what could happen here."

Last-mile delivery is the crucial final step in getting packages from a distribution center, where goods come in, to the customer. With the explosion of online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic, and increased demand for same-day or even two-hour delivery services, the placement of delivery hubs closer to the millions of homes they serve in New York City has become a key competitive edge in e-commerce.

Construction is currently under way in Red Hook for two Amazon last-mile delivery stations totaling more than 600,000 square feet, according to the company. The retailer said it would bring hundreds of jobs to the area and is committed to using electric vehicles in coming years. UPS is planning a 1.2-million-square-foot facility on 12 acres of waterfront property in the neighborhood.

Some residents said fleets of trucks and sprinter vans coming in and out will increase congestion on the neighborhood's narrow roads, many of which are in disrepair. Surrounded by water on three sides and bordered by an often-clogged expressway, Red Hook has only a few ways for trucks to enter the neighborhood.

Amazon and UPS said they are committed to being good neighbors, communicating with residents and mitigating the impact of their delivery hubs on traffic congestion and pollution.

"We are committed to working closely with local stakeholders to ensure these delivery stations minimize any disruption in the community we're so thrilled to be joining," Amazon spokeswoman Jenna Hilzenrath said. "Our goal is to not only provide great pay and benefits, but also become part of the fabric of Red Hook by embracing the people, the needs and the spirit of the community."

Glenn Zaccara, a UPS spokesman, said the company has been sharing a number of solutions with the city and the community including infrastructure investments and pilot programs for cargo bikes to address concerns.

Amazon is no stranger to community opposition in New York City. Two years ago, the company pulled out of plans for a headquarters in Long Island City, in Queens, after facing pushback from some local elected officials and community groups.

The company said it has plans for several other last-mile delivery hubs in New York City neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. That would add to several other city distribution centers Amazon has built in recent years.

Mr. Menchaca and other Red Hook residents said they fear that the neighborhood, which is about one square mile, will be overwhelmed by the delivery and trucking operations -- and there is nothing stopping more from being built.

Because of Red Hook's zoning, delivery hubs can be built with no special permits or environmental-impact studies required. Mr. Menchaca and other locals have been calling on the city to amend the neighborhood's zoning. They are also pushing for a comprehensive traffic study and a moratorium on new last-mile warehouses until the potential impact on the neighborhood has been studied.

New York City Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lolita Avila said the agency has been in regular contact with local elected officials about mitigating the impact of the developments and would welcome "a much broader conversation about land use and transportation in industrial zones throughout the city" that a long-term solution would require.

Red Hook, with a long history as a working-class enclave, is home to Brooklyn's largest public-housing complex, where more than half of the neighborhood's 11,000 residents live. In recent years, its quaint streets, some cobblestone and with views of the Statue of Liberty, have experienced an influx of boutiques, chic restaurants, distilleries and artists' workshops.

The neighborhood was flooded in 2012 during superstorm Sandy. As it was rebuilt and repaired, companies including Tesla Inc. have moved in, along with construction of more multimillion-dollar homes and a private school.

Real-estate developers have been buying up property in Red Hook to build additional delivery hubs and lease them to companies such as Amazon, Mr. Menchaca said. Several other properties in the neighborhood are being built out as distribution warehouses.

Dov Hertz, president of DH Property Holdings, a real-estate firm that is developing distribution centers for Amazon, said with e-commerce here to stay, New York City needs these facilities. The projects will create jobs that will serve the people in the neighborhoods where they are built, he said.

"If New York is going to be a competitive city, it has to have the distribution infrastructure in place to meet the needs of its residents, " he said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-28-21 0814ET