The way many goods come into the city most often starts on a container barge.

“Today, food containers from South and Central America come in to the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, much of it gets on a barge and floats back to New Jersey,” said Andrew Kimball, president of NYC Economic Development Corporation.

“It goes into cold storage. It gets on a truck. It comes over the bridge to the Bronx, goes to our produce center and meat market and fish market. It gets processed. And then it goes up by truck again. That is not sustainable.”

What You Need To Know

• With freight volumes expected to grow 67% by 2045, NYCEDC, along with the city transportation department, has released the Blue Highways Action Plan

• The plan identifies 25 possible landing sites in the city where, instead of goods going back onto trucks, they will be delivered closer to where they need to go via boat

• There will be a landing in Hunts Point where the produce market is now, and the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. The Downtown Skyport is set for use in 2027, and the many ferry landings will soon be activated too

• The plan is the culmination of 20 years of work and could take 400 trucks a day off local roads by using cargo bikes and also create over 100,000 jobs

With freight volumes expected to grow 67% by 2045, NYCEDC, along with the city transportation department, has released the Blue Highways Action Plan.

The plan identifies 25 possible landing sites in the city where, instead of those goods going back onto trucks, they will be delivered closer to where they need to go via boat. One of those sites is the Downtown Skyport by Pier 11/Wall Street.

“We’re working with an international infrastructure company to add a landing such that you can bring in a barge or a fast boat, roll off those cargo trikes or quads and deliver them for that last micro mile,” Kimball said. “We’re working on locations on the west side, in Midtown. All of our ferry landings can also double for cargo delivery.”

There will be a landing in Hunts Point where the produce market is now, and the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Kimball says the plan is the culmination of 20 years of work.

“We just have to do it because it’s not sustainable to have 40,000 trucks going over our bridges every day,” he said.

Not only a benefit for traffic and the environment, but it’s expected to create over 100,000 jobs. Of course, it will take money.

“It’s going to take all of the above: public, private sector. It’s probably going to take new tax incentives in the future to incentivize this new mode shift,” Kimball said. “In the case of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, one of the great things about that project is that the market-rate housing is cross-subsidizing a lot of the build-out of the port.”

The plan is already underway. The Downtown Skyport is set for use in 2027, and the many ferry landings will soon be activated.

However, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal probably won’t be operational for at least five years.