{"id":364992,"date":"2026-10-05T18:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T18:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/364992\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T18:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T18:04:58","slug":"mta-plans-120k-amazon-access-fix-as-east-harlem-businesses-ask-what-about-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/364992\/","title":{"rendered":"MTA plans $120K Amazon access fix as East Harlem businesses ask ‘what about us?’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MTA plans to spend up to $120,000 to preserve access to an Amazon delivery hub during Bronx construction \u2014 even as East Harlem mom-and-pop shops say the agency is refusing to help<\/a> them survive similar disruptions.<\/p>\n

The transit agency would reimburse Amazon-related costs tied to a temporary access route at its 367,000-square-foot Morris Park delivery facility, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority documents.<\/p>\n

The money would cover Amazon\u2019s review and approval of the planned route, a temporary curb cut on Marconi Street and an updated city Buildings Department site plan, records show.<\/p>\n

The MTA plans to spend about $120,000 to preserve access to an Amazon delivery hub during Bronx construction. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The MTA needs the new route because it will periodically close Bassett Avenue \u2014 the only way in and out of the facility \u2014 while building a new Metro-North station entrance and pedestrian overpass as part of its Penn Station Access project.<\/p>\n

But the MTA\u2019s six-figure budget to keep Amazon moving has left East Harlem merchants fuming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make my blood boil,\u201d Eagle Tile owner Lu Nicaj said. \u201cA trillion-dollar company they reimburse, but they don\u2019t reimburse guys like me that need this money?\u201d<\/p>\n

MTA construction fences block businesses in East Harlem \u2014 but the transit agency won\u2019t help the small businesses, shop owners tell The Post. Haley Brown\/NY Post<\/p>\n

Nicaj said Second Avenue Subway construction has wiped out nearly 90% of the contractor business his store relies on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the MTA took over his loading zone, blocked access with barriers and equipment and then went silent after promising to help with access for customers picking up bulky orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am a mom-and-pop shop and all of a sudden MTA comes and destroys everything I\u2019ve built for the past 35 years,\u201d Nicaj said. \u201cAnd yet they find $120,000 to reimburse Amazon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicaj said that same money could help him relocate.<\/p>\n

\u201c$120,000 would help me move and relocate,\u201d he said. \u201cI could do it tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go Donut owner Solomon Fresh said sales at his Second Avenue shop near East 119th Street have dropped 70% since construction moved outside four months ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the MTA repeatedly told him it \u201ccan\u2019t pay us anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really disrespectful,\u201d Fresh said. \u201cThey just don\u2019t care about us.\u201d<\/p>\n

MTA\u2019s six-figure spending to keep Amazon moving has left East Harlem mom and pop merchants fuming. Google Maps<\/p>\n

Fresh said he is not asking for $120,000 \u2014 only some relief while construction fences and noise keep customers away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how I feed my son,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re making it difficult for me and my family.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

East Harlem merchants previously told The Post that the nearly $8 billion Second Avenue Subway expansion has squeezed sidewalks, blocked loading areas and slashed business.<\/p>\n

The MTA insisted it has been working with the East Harlem shops to help mitigate the effects of the construction. <\/p>\n

The MTA said in a statement Friday officials at the transit agency are working with the NYC DOT to \u201ctry to identify alternative commercial loading and unloading space nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The MTA plans to spend up to $120,000 to preserve access to an Amazon delivery hub during Bronx…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[586,128,6808,469,57,141,9,24,63,2990,129,131,130,58],"class_list":["post-364992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-amazon","tag-bronx","tag-east-harlem","tag-harlem","tag-metro","tag-mta","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-small-business","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}