$77 Million in Federal Grants to Electrify School Buses Build First-in-the-Nation Electric Truck Charging Depot

Funding Will Add 180 New Electric School Buses to New York City Streets and Quadruple Existing Electric School Bus Fleet

Will Also Create Electric Vehicle Charging Depot at Hunts Point Food Distribution Center to Charge Over 7,000 Vehicles Each Year

Investments Will Bolster Mayor Adams’ Efforts to Grow Green Economy, Electrify Hunts Point as Announced in State of the City Address 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today 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 fundingto 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. This is what it looks like when leaders from City Hall to the halls of Congress work together to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New York City. My thanks to President Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency, and all our federal partners who helped secure this funding and are working to deliver a cleaner, greener city for New Yorkers.”

In partnership with DOE and MOCEJ, the $61.1 million award to electrify New York City’s school bus fleet will benefit two companies — NYC School Bus Umbrella Services and JP Bus and Truck Repair — and help the city reach its goal of an entirely zero-emission school bus fleet by 2035 through its “PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done.” NYC School Bus Umbrella Services — the city’s nonprofit school bus company — won $29.5 million for 100 electric school buses and 100 chargers to be used citywide. JP Bus and Truck Repair won $31.5 million for 80 electric school buses to serve districts 18, 19, 20, and 21 in Brooklyn — including Coney Island, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood, New Lots, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Windsor Terrace.

This is the second round of Clean School Bus Program grants awarded to the city following an $18.3 million grant for 51 electric school buses last year.

Additionally, Mayor Adams today announced that DOT and NYCEDC won a $15 million grant from USDOT to build a first-in-the-nation freight-focused electric truck and vehicle charging depot at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx. The “Recharge Hub” will offer electric trucks and passenger vehicles access to both fast chargers and regular chargers, providing a convenient way for electric trucks passing through Hunts Point or the Bruckner Expressway to recharge. The grant will also support the development of an onsite, multipurpose building to host workforce development programming, community events, and a rest area for drivers.

By expanding access to electric chargers, the hub will reduce the need for fleet owners to make expensive charging upgrades at their own locations, remove a significant barrier to electrification, and encourage greater adoption of electric vehicles by trucking companies. Once fully constructed, the hub will be able to charge over 3,000 trucks and 4,000 passenger vehicles annually, eliminating an estimated 5.1 million tons of CO₂. This funding will help replace diesel trucks with electric vehicles, reducing air pollution and addressing longstanding public health inequities in Hunts Points specifically and the South Bronx more broadly, which is home to disproportionately high rates of air pollution and asthma.

The Adams administration previously secured $110 million from USDOT’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Grant Program to invest in resiliency and freight upgrades to the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market.

Finally, Mayor Adams today announced that MOCEJ has won a $1.5 million planning grant from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Ride and Drive Electric Program to help the city develop a resilient electric school bus charging infrastructure plan.

Recent federal legislation including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act — has unlocked unprecedented amounts of federal funding for key resiliency projects across the country. To maximize funding for New York City, Mayor Adams formed the Federal Infrastructure Funding Task Force and appointed Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi as chair. The task force has helped align priorities for high-quality, sustainable, equitable infrastructure projects across the city and created aggressive and creative grant applications from a wide range of infrastructure agencies. To date, New York City has secured more than $1.6 billion in federal infrastructure funding, including over $650 million in competitive federal grants.