Hunts Point Terminal lease, redevelopment negotiations hit stumbling block

Talks between Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market merchants and the city regarding the complex’s lease and its redevelopment have hit a dead end, Crain’s reported.

The negotiations have already gone on for two years, and the current impasse could reignite talks between the merchants and New Jersey, which had previously tried to win over the vendors with tax breaks, Crain’s said.

“I’m not sure either party thinks there is any progress that can be made with further talks; the deal fell apart,” Matthew D’Arrigo, the co-president of the merchants’ cooperative, told Crain’s.

He said that the co-op has not spoken with New Jersey officials in two years.

As previously reported, the vendors reached a tentative deal in January with the city to extend their lease at the 113-acre site by 10 years. However, Crain’s noted, the cooperative rejected the deal later that month.

Additionally, a lawsuit has tainted the good will between the two sides, Crain’s said. The market’s produce vendors filed a suit last month against the Business Integrity Commission, a city agency, alleging it committed fraud by hiring a construction company several years ago whose principals have criminal records. [Crain’s] —Zachary Kussin