UWS to Get Three Micro-Hubs as DOT Rolls Out Three-Year Pilot Program
Three of the first five “Microhub Zones,” which intend on making the “last leg” of deliveries less environmentally taxing and more safe, will be located on the Upper West Side. At a Jan. 15 round-table, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydannis Rodriguez touted this rollout, as well as other ongoing initiatives such as an e-bike safety campaign.
| 17 Jan 2025 | 06:45
The DOT has announced the rollout of its three-year pilot microhubs program, which will use vehicles such as the cargo bike pictured above to make the “last leg” of deliveries. Three of the five pilot locations are located on the UWS. (
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NYC DOT Commissioner Ydannis Rodriguez speaking at a Jan. 15 media roundtable, where he touted a new “microhubs” pilot program and discussed the ongoing “Get Smart Before You Start” e-bike safety campaign (pictured on poster, back-right). (
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The NYC DOT is officially rolling out a three-year “Microhub Zones” pilot program, after completing a period of public comment. It intends on lessening the environmental and safety burden of the last leg of deliveries, by transferring them onto lighter and more sustainable forms of transport such as e-cargo bikes or electronic sprinter vans.
Of the first fives zones being rolled out, three will be located on the Upper West Side: one at Amsterdam Avenue & West 73rd Street, one at Amsterdam Avenue & West 85th Street, and one at Broadway and West 77th Street. The other two will be located in Brooklyn. They’ll be located in the curb lane, stand between 80-100 ft. long, and will have markers identifying them as mircrohubs. The DOT notes that it will install “upgraded safety barriers” and cargo bike corrals where needed.
“New Yorkers are receiving more deliveries than ever before, and microhub zones will make them greener and safer by reducing the number of big trucks navigating local streets,” DOT Commissioner Ydannis Rodriguez said in a statement. “Big delivery trucks not only present safety risks on busy city streets, but too often they block the flow of traffic on our roads and pedestrians on our sidewalks. We are excited to launch these first five microhub zones in Greenpoint, Clinton Hill, and on the Upper West Side.”
At a Jan. 15 media round-table hosted by the DOT and attended by Straus News, Commissioner Rodriguez touted the microhubs program: “80 percent of New Yorkers are placing a delivery order once a week, through UPS, Amazon, and FedEx...there is opportunity for companies responding to this pilot program, where they can receive a permit to bring a truck to a microhub location. Yet from that location, they have to use a smaller and more efficient vehicle.”
Rodriguez also touched on another debate that some NYC and Manhattan residents have latched onto, which is the occurrence of e-bike-related fatalities and how to reduce them. To that end, he touted the “Get Smart Before You Start” campaign that the DOT has been running, which he said began after the agency counted “80 cyclists who had lost their lives in 2022...in 2023, 23 people who died were using e-bikes.“
Pedestrians have also died after being hit by e-bikes in high-profile collisions, most prominently 80 year-old Priscilla Loke, a retired Head Start teacher who was hit and killed in Chinatown back in September 2023.
“We want to educate those who use e-bikes on how to maneuver them, how to accelerate, and how to stop,” Rodriguez added. We also have a message: ‘Cyclists, look for pedestrians.’ ‘Cyclists, look for children.’ ‘Cyclists, don’t bike on the sidewalk.’” He also said that the campaign advises pedestrians to use the crosswalk, instead of crossing at mid-block.
Local lawmakers, including City Councilmember Gale Brewer and State Senator Brad Holyman-Sigal, have gone further by throwing support behind bills that would mandate the licensing and registration of e-bikes and mopeds. A bill named after Loke–and sponsored by Queens City Councilmember Robert Holden–would task the DOT with doing so. The DOT opposes that bill, believing that it would turn them into a DMV of sorts. Delivery driver advocates also oppose it but for different reasons.
Brewer & Hoylman-Sigal have pushed for a state bill, which would specifically focus on registration for commercial e-bikes and mopeds.