Empire Clean Cities, in collaboration with Net Zero Logistics, announced the successful completion of Phase One of the Sustainable Last Mile Delivery in Dense Metro pilot project. This groundbreaking initiative is designed to demonstrate how clean, scalable solutions—coupling heavy-duty electric cargo bikes with maritime middle-mile transport—can reduce traffic congestion and emissions associated with last-mile delivery and e-commerce while supporting efficient delivery in dense urban environments. Empire Clean Cities will showcase the project, including the Fulpra cargo bikes used in the pilot, on Friday, September 26 at the NYC Climate Week 2025 expo on Governors Island hosted by The Trust for Governors Island. The project team includes key partners Barretto Bay Strategies, Freight Matters and The Hub Bicycles.
Launched for the Summer 2025 Season, the first phase of the pilot created a delivery corridor between Sunset Park, Brooklyn and Governors Island. Working with local vendor Carreau Club, deliveries of food and beverages were picked up by electric cargo bike at Industry City in Sunset Park, transported to the Atlantic Basin Ferry Terminal in Red Hook, and then loaded onto a NYC Ferry vessel for the maritime leg of the journey. Upon arrival at Governors Island, the goods were received and distributed with a second Fulpra cargo bike stationed on the island. Empire Clean Cities is currently exploring opportunities to continue the service year-round and expand its collaboration with Governors Island vendors and institutions.
Looking ahead, Phase Two of the project will extend operations to include a delivery route connecting Hunts Point in the Bronx to lower Manhattan. This next phase will further advance the project’s core mission: replacing delivery truck trips with electric cargo bikes and leveraging New York City’s waterways in alignment with the NYC Department of Transportation and NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Blue Highway Initiative, a strategy integrating sustainable waterborne transportation into New York’s freight ecosystem, complementing ongoing efforts to green the supplychain.
“Blue Highways represent the future of freight delivery in New York City, and NYCEDC is dedicated to making that vision a reality,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “By activating the City’s waterfront for last-mile delivery — from the recently approved and historic Brooklyn Marine Terminal project to Downtown Skyport in lower Manhattan and Hunts Point in the Bronx – and working with critical partners like Empire Clean Cities to test this theory in practice, together, we are building a cleaner, more efficient, and sustainable future for all New Yorkers.”
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, “New York City’s waterways were its highways of the past and can be the highways of its future. Our Blue Highways program is designed to reduce the number of big trucks on our streets by moving more goods by boat and making the final deliveries to people’s doors using smaller, safer forms of transportation like cargo bikes. This transformative work is a win for our environment, for street safety, and for everyone’s quality of life. Empire Clean Cities is at the forefront of this work and an important ally in our Blue Highways Program.”
“New York City has the density, the innovation, and the urgency to lead in sustainable freight solutions,” said Joy Gardner, Executive Director of Empire Clean Cities. “This pilot shows that by rethinking the last mile, we can create cleaner air, safer streets, and more resilientogistics models that can be replicated in other major cities across the country.”
Carreau Club owner, Dana Bunker shared her experience as a delivery partner, “Carreau Club was so grateful to have a delivery partner on the island this season! Their team was reliable, easy to work with, and always showed up – rain or shine! By picking up fresh food straight from our Brooklyn kitchen and delivering it directly to our island location, they saved us from the weekly ferry struggle and even helped ease demand on the Trust’s ferry. Consistent drivers, smooth operations, and a huge win for our team.”
For more information about the Sustainable Last Mile Delivery in Dense Metro Pilot Project or to learn how to get involved, please contact Lauren Kesner O’Brien at lauren@empirecleancities.org.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
