New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city has been awarded a total of $77 million in competitive grants from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand the number of electric school buses and trucks on city streets. A $61.1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Grant Program will add 180 new electric school buses to the city’s fleet and quadruple the number of electric school buses in New York City. Additionally, a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program will help build a groundbreaking, freight-focused electric truck and vehicle charging depot at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, the busiest heavy trucking destination in New York state. Lastly, the city was awarded $1.5 million from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Ride and Drive Electric Program to support planning and coordination efforts to electrify New York City’s electric school bus fleet.
These investments will advance several efforts announced by Mayor Adams in his State of the City address earlier this year, such as the release of his administration’s plan to grow the city’s green economy and build electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the Hunts Point Produce Market as the administration creates a “Harbor of the Future” along New York City’s iconic waterways. These grants also build on the Adams administration’s successful track record of securing over $1.6 billion in federal funding to create high-quality, sustainable, and equitable infrastructure in New York City, including more than $120 million awarded to New York City last week to expand green space and improve infrastructure in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.
“I have always said that I am a five-borough mayor, and with this funding, we are building an even brighter future for the Bronx and our entire city,” said Mayor Adams. “These grants will help us put more electric school buses on our streets, turn one of the world’s largest food distribution centers into one of the world’s greenest facilities, deliver cleaner air for our children, and help undo a long history of environmental racism in the South Bronx.”
“Thanks to President Biden, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and our entire congressional delegation, our city is once again taking major steps to deliver clean air for future generations through the electrification of our school bus fleet and the continued expansion of our electric charging infrastructure,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi.
