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Amazon Pledges to Expand Same-Day Delivery to The Bronx Following Criticism

By Eddie Small | May 2, 2016 12:12pm
 Amazon has pledged to expand its same-day delivery service to The Bronx in the coming weeks following criticism from local elected officials.
Amazon has pledged to expand its same-day delivery service to The Bronx in the coming weeks following criticism from local elected officials.
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David McNew/Getty Images

THE BRONX — Amazon has pledged to expand same-day delivery to The Bronx after intense criticism from local elected officials for failing to offer the service in the borough.

Bloomberg Businessweek published an analysis of the online retail giant in late April showing that same-day delivery service was available throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island but not in The Bronx and not in certain black neighborhoods in Queens, a practice that drew the ire of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

"This is entirely unacceptable," he wrote in a letter to Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos. "While your company serves four of the five boroughs, my own constituents, largely black and Latino in ethnic makeup, are excluded."

"Such a level of insensitivity, if not hostility, should not be an accepted practice for the world's leader in online retail," he continued.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz criticized the company as well, describing the disparities in service as de facto segregation that merited an investigation from the New York State Attorney General and the State Division of Consumer Protection.

In a letter to both officials, Amazon Vice President of Public Policy Brian Huseman wrote that the company was "actively working" to bring same-day delivery to The Bronx in the coming weeks and that the company considers several factors when determining where it can offer the service, including local demand and the ability of partners to deliver up to 9 p.m. every day.

The company plans to expand same-day delivery to the unserved neighborhoods in Queens over the next few weeks as well.

Diaz and Dinowitz both praised the company's decision to expand its same-day delivery.

"Amazon's reversal of their previous policy, which excluded my borough from the same-day delivery services offered to the rest of the city, is a welcome one," Diaz said in a statement. "I appreciate that Amazon heard our concerns and have made this change and will provide The Bronx with service equity in the coming weeks."