Contact: Colleen Roche, Kim Serafin (212) 788-2958 or Department of Transportation-Brice Peyre (212) 442-7033
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced a change in the City's Administrative Code that will allow commercial vans to make pick-ups and deliveries in the midtown Garment District. For the last 40 years, only six-wheel trucks were allowed to load and unload in the area, bordered by 35th to 41st Streets between Avenue of the Americas and Eighth Avenue. The Mayor made the announcement on his weekly WABC Radio show, where he has received several calls about this problem from concerned New Yorkers.
"Just as style has changed over the years, so has the means of conducting business in New York City's thriving fashion industry," said Mayor Giuliani. "Restricting loading and unloading in the Garment District to massive, six-wheel trucks no longer makes sense when so much of our world-famous fashion trade relies on light manufacturing.
"Municipal government must be sensitive and responsive to the concerns of City businesses, and that is why I have sought and implemented this change in the code," added the Mayor.
Transportation Commissioner Christopher R. Lynn, whose agency prepared the rules change at the direction of Mayor Giuliani, agreed with the Mayor's analysis. "Just last week, I heard from a dressmaker who found it absurd that he was required to deliver a box of buttons in a massive six-wheel, two-axle truck. These archaic and outdated restrictions were harmful to our air quality, to our business environment, and to the smooth flow of traffic through this vibrant commercial area, and the Mayor deserves kudos for acknowledging the problem and taking steps to correct it," said the Commissioner.
"The Giuliani administration is dedicated to improving New York City's business environment. That is why the Mayor directed the Transportation Department to form a Business Mobility Unit headed by Assistant Commissioner Harley Brooke-Hitching. DOT's Business Mobility Unit met with trucking concerns, the heads of midtown Business Improvement Districts, fashion industry executives and manufacturers as well as other local businesses and many other community leaders in the course of laying the groundwork for this rules change," said Commissioner Lynn.
Currently, Section 4-08 (I) (4) of Chapter 4 of Title 34 of the Official Compilation of Rules of the City of New York restricts parking in the garment district to trucks between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. An amendment to allow vans with commercial license plates to load and unload was proposed by the Department of Transportation last November. A public hearing on the proposed rules change was held on January 3, 1997. No opposition to the change was expressed at the hearing or in written comments. The new rule will take effect on February 24, 1997.