New York City’s Department of Transportation is offering local businesses cash to move their deliveries out of daytime traffic and into the overnight hours, and the applications are now open. The agency has committed $5 million in congestion pricing revenue to one-time grants for businesses that agree to receive their goods between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., El Diario and World Journal reported. World Journal reported the department announced the money on September 23.
The money comes from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s share of congestion pricing revenue and funds the DOT’s Off-Hour Deliveries Program, El Diario and World Journal reported. Any business that receives or transports commercial goods in New York City is eligible, including businesses in Brooklyn and Queens, and existing Off-Hour Deliveries partners can apply. The application takes about 30 minutes once a business has drafted its plan for shifting deliveries, and applicants need letters of support from their receiving or transporting partners.
El Diario reported that up to 14 companies will receive more than $500,000 combined in the program’s first phase. World Journal reported that more than 10 businesses have already received a combined total of more than $500,000. Small retailers in the first phase include Element Brooklyn, Migrant Kitchen and Tea and Milk, El Diario reported.
