Around 90,000 packages are reported stolen or lost in transit in New York City every day.
Well, city officials are now fighting back against package thieves with new free public delivery lockers.
The city is launching what it is calling a LockerNYC initiative on a one-year pilot program. Each locker can hold 25 packages at one time and can receive packages from multiple delivery carriers.
Currently, seven lockers are installed around the city with more planned and on the way.
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According to the city, the current locations are:
- Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn — 830 Lafayette Avenue, outside Ideal Food Basket grocery
- Canarsie, Brooklyn — 1380 Rockaway Parkway
- East Flatbush, Brooklyn — 1086 Brooklyn Avenue, outside Ideal Food Basket grocery
- Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn — 2036 Bedford Avenue, outside Ideal Food Basket grocery
- Sunnyside, Queens — 47-01 49th Street, outside the Cosmopolitan Houses apartments
Planned locations include Bushwick and Hell's Kitchen.
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The locker setups are green and six-and-a-half foot tall. Package companies, including UPS and DHL are cleared to drop off and pick up packages at the lockers 24/7, with the hope they will defeat crime.
New York's mayor said this is a win-win.
"When you look at the surge of home deliveries, you’re also looking at the surge effect, almost 90,000 packages being reported stolen or lost everyday in this city," said Mayor Eric Adams. "New Yorkers have had thousands taken from their porches and we want to tackle this problem head on."
City officials said they hope this set up helps ease delivery truck congestion on the streets. By allowing carriers to make fewer trips, the goal is to also address the number of double-parked vehicles and improve emissions.
A pilot program in Seattle found the lockers reduced truck idling at the curb by up to 33 percent and reduced delivery times by 78 percent, according to a city press release.
The lockers are operated and maintained by GoLocker, which is covering the cost of the first year of the pilot program.
