Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today presided at a topping-out ceremony to celebrate the placing of the final steel beam for the future home of the Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point in the South Bronx.  The new market will bring more than $1 billion in new economic activity and about 600 jobs to Hunts Point.  The relocation will also help ensure the City’s long-term retention of the wholesale seafood industry.  The Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point is one of the world’s largest fish markets, second only to Tokyo, and has been located at the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan for over a hundred and fifty years.  Bronx Borough President Carrión, Jr., Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Josephine Infante, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President Andrew M. Alper, and Robert Smith of the New Fulton Fish Market Cooperative at Hunts Point joined the Mayor at the ceremony.

“Moving the Fulton Fish Market to Hunts Point is great news for everyone involved,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “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 Fish Market will join the produce and meat markets to make the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center the world’s premier food distribution center.”

“Hunts Point is the perfect location for the Fulton Fish Market, with unmatched access to great transportation connections via rail, road and water,” said Bronx Borough President Carrión. “This project means new jobs in the Bronx and advances my vision for the development of the Hunts Point Peninsula and the entire Bronx waterfront. We look forward to the day the market open here in the Bronx.”

The City is constructing an approximately 430,000-square-foot facility on 30 acres of vacant land at the southern end of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. When completed in early 2005, all the market’s 50 wholesale fish companies will move from Lower Manhattan to the new facility. The new state-of-the-art facility will adhere to regulations implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for food safety.

The market will be a secure, gated facility with controlled access.  Its new layout will increase efficiency and cut unloading time by 50 percent – from five hours to two and a half hours.  Twenty semi-trucks will be able to be unloaded at the same time at the new facility, compared with 5 at the current location in Lower Manhattan. The new facility will also feature ample parking facilities to accommodate semi-trucks, retailer vans and employee vehicles.

The new location will also provide fish wholesalers the opportunity to extend their business hours. The current hours of operation at the South Street Seaport location are restricted because public streets are used for selling and moving products from stalls to customers’ vehicles. It is expected that the convenient location at Hunts Point will provide easy access to a larger regional marketplace for seafood products.

The 1,300-foot-long building features a corridor down the center of the building with vendors on either side. It will have ten separate entrances to provide convenient access from any part of the parking lot and a loading dock at either end of the building. Each vendor space will have display space, a freezer and storage space. A 100,000-square-foot mezzanine will provide space for offices, restrooms and lockers. There will also be approximately 5,000 square-feet of rental space that may be used for retail purposes such as a restaurant or a bank.

“The Fulton Fish Market is more than bricks and mortar,” said EDC President Alper. “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. At the same time, we are also enhancing the redevelopment of the former Fish Market site to make the historic South Street Seaport a more desirable residential, retail and expanded museum district.”

“In the present economy when the Administration has had to make some tough decisions regarding capital spending, I am pleased that Mayor Bloomberg decided to move this project forward,” said Robert Smith of the New Fulton Fish Market Cooperative at Hunts Point. “I have reviewed the plans for the new facility and I know that it will improve efficiency, as well as the quality of the product we handle.”

“I have always dreamed of a world-class food distribution center, and with the addition of the fish market, that dream is coming true,” said Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Josephine Infante. “Visitors come from all over the world to see how we make it work, and now that international awareness will be increased.” 

The Bronx and Hunts Point 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 also supports direct access into the Hunts Point peninsula from either the Bruckner or the Sheridan Expressways, and is working with State Department of Transportation to accomplish that goal.

EDC is responsible for leasing and development of the Fulton Fish Market as well as the other Hunts Point markets. Cybul & Cybul Architects worked closely with EDC and its construction manager, Turner Construction Company, as well as the fish market wholesalers to develop the best possible design for the new $85 million market.

 The City and EDC are involved in a number of other initiatives in Hunts Point to improve the economy and quality of life on the peninsula. The Hunts Point Task Force has been established to help the City create a strategy to improve the quality of the business and residential communities.  The mission of the Task Force is to create a land use and transportation vision that sets goals for the next 20 years and to develop an action plan for infrastructure and
environmental improvements.  In response to community requests, EDC completed a feasibility study for a community market to serve Hunts Point residents.  Currently, the City, the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, and Sustainable South Bronx are working together to implement a plan.

In addition, EDC is sponsoring $2.7 million in state and federal grants to be used to design and construct streetscape improvements and begin a truck route signage program that will enhance the Hunts Point Community, help prevent trucks from entering residential neighborhoods and make the community safer and more pedestrian friendly.  EDC is also seeking an additional $15 million in federal money to complete the truck route signage program, and increase lighting and roadway improvements throughout the industrial park.

In keeping with the Mayor’s commitment to improve waterfront access for all residents of New York City, EDC is sponsoring a project, in cooperation with Sustainable South Bronx and The Point, two local community groups, to identify appropriate places for waterfront access and greenway improvements throughout the Hunts Point Peninsula.