Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, November 26, 2001
Release # 370-01

Contact: Matthew Higgins / Peter C. Fenty (212) 788-2958
  Gregory Miley / Janel Patterson (EDC) (212) 312-3523


MAYOR GIULIANI BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART
SEAFOOD MARKET AT HUNTS POINT

$1 Billion Industry Will Bring 1,000 Jobs to the Bronx

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today broke ground preparing the way for the move of the Fulton Fish Market to the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx. As announced in January 2001, the City will construct an approximately 450,000-square-foot state-of-the-art wholesale facility on 30 acres of vacant land at the southern end of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. The Fulton Fish Market has been located at the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan since the early 1800s.

"Moving the Fulton Fish Market to Hunts Point is good news for everyone involved in the Market," said Mayor Giuliani. "The fish merchants will get a new, safe and efficient facility that will provide space to grow and expand; retailers, restaurants and consumers will get top-quality seafood products; and the Bronx will become the home of the country's preeminent wholesale food market. The Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which houses the meat market and the produce market, will now also be home to the Fulton Fish Market."

The new $85 million market will be fully enclosed and temperature controlled. It will be 40,000 square feet larger than the current market and create almost 200 additional jobs, bringing approximately 1,000 jobs to the Bronx. The new facility will fully comply with regulations implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All of the Fish Market's 55 vendors have agreed to move to the new market at Hunt's Point when it is completed in the Summer of 2003.

"The Fulton Fish Market is more than bricks and mortar," said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Finance Robert M. Harding. "By building a new market that will ensure the long-term viability of this industry, we are providing the fish merchants with a real future and preserving an important piece of New York City history."

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is responsible for overseeing, leasing and development of the Fulton Fish Market as well as the other Hunts Point food markets; the City's Department of Business Services will oversee the security and licensing of tenants.

The new market will be a gated facility with controlled access. Its efficient layout will cut unloading time by 50 percent, from five hours to two and half-hours. The new location will provide fish vendors the opportunity to extend their business hours. Hours of operation at the South Street Seaport location are restricted because public streets are used for selling and moving product from stalls to customers' vehicles. It is also expected that the Hunts Point location will provide easy access to a larger regional marketplace for seafood products. The new facility will also feature a large parking area to accommodate 120 semi-trucks, 1,300 retailer vans and 750 employee vehicles.

Deputy Mayor for Community Development and Business Services Rudy Washington said, "Fulton Fish Market, the most well known wholesale fish market in the country, will become equally as famous as the most modern, safe, sanitary and convenient fish wholesale market in the world."

The Bronx and Hunts Point communities will benefit from this project in many ways. In addition to new jobs and added revenue, the City is upgrading the rail infrastructure at Hunts Point to encourage greater use of rail freight movement to reduce air pollution and truck traffic on the streets. The City will also support reconstruction of the nearby Bruckner and Sheridan Expressways to provide direct truck access to the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center.

"Moving the fish market will also be good for Lower Manhattan," said EDC President Michael G. Carey. "Redevelopment of the buildings in and around the fish market will result in more residential housing and neighborhood amenities. The landmark South Street Seaport neighborhood will become a more desirable residential, retail and expanded museum district."



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