About 3 million New Yorkers live within a half-mile of large warehouses, which fill online orders but also create delivery truck traffic that dangerously pollute the air. And those residents are more likely to be Black, Hispanic or live in poverty, according to a new analysis of warehouse and census data.
The findings from the Environmental Defense Fund, a national environmental advocacy group, show that pollution from e-commerce disproportionately affects people who are already at risk for severe asthma, heart disease, preterm birth and other health effects of bad air. Children, older adults, pregnant New Yorkers and those with chronic health conditions are all especially vulnerable to air pollution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Because of the density in New York City, you’re seeing communities where every child lives within a half-mile of a warehouse,” said Aileen Nowlan, policy director for EDF and a coauthor on the report.
Large-scale warehouses are scattered across the city, but the largest concentrations are found in parts of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the report shows.
Online shopping boomed during the pandemic’s early years, and facilities for companies like Amazon, FedEx and UPS, among others, have sprouted up across the five boroughs to meet the demand. Smaller e-commerce players, like hair care company Prose, have also taken up residence in the city.
New York state’s 2,000-plus large-scale distribution centers now cover more than 300 million square feet, according to the report — a 6% increase compared to the 2010s. Dozens or even hundreds of truck trips serve each warehouse daily. And along the way, diesel-burning trucks spew dangerous pollutants, including nitrogen oxide and PM2.5 — a term for easily inhaled fine particulate matter — especially when they start, idle or drive slowly, Nowlan said.
But the sizes, locations and pollution burdens of these warehouses are “shrouded in secrecy,” the report says….
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