Months after talks over a new site for the Hunts Point Terminal Market broke down, the market’s vendors have sued the City of New York.
Hunts Point is the world’s largest wholesale terminal produce market and thousands of refrigerated big rigs deliver fresh produce to it daily, for distribution throughout New England and much of the East Coast.
On April 22, the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association sued the city and its Business Integrity Commission, according to court documents filed in Bronx Supreme Court.
The association claims in the suit that the Business Integrity Commission, which oversees many activities at Hunts Point, forced produce wholesalers to hire an unqualified consultant to review the association’s public safety department.
A no-bid contract was issued to Long Island-based Global Consulting LLC, which, the suit argues, not only was unqualified for the job but was run by principals with “checkered law enforcement histories.”
The work Global Consulting did for the association was “superficial” and consisted largely of documents provided by the association itself.
The association is suing the City and the Business Integrity Commission for $500,000.
The lawsuit comes at a time when talks between Hunts Point’s produce vendors and the City over construction of a new terminal market have broken down.
In a January meeting, the market board rejected a city offer to amend its existing lease.
Talks are not expected to resume until 2014, when a new mayor enters office.