The city has launched Wednesday a new pilot program offering free public locker storage for secure package deliveries on Big Apple sidewalks, aiming to crack down both on rampant package theft and a major uptick in delivery truck traffic.
Big green lockers manufactured by local startup GoLocker have been placed at five locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, with two more to come as part of a yearlong pilot for the secure locker tech.
“New Yorkers have had thousands of dollars worth of items taken from their apartments, their lobbies, out front on their porches. And we want to tackle the problem head-on,” Mayor Eric Adams said at the unveiling of one of the first lockers outside Ideal Food Basket grocery store in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Wednesday. “We want to send a message to the porch pirates that your days are over.”
Each GoLocker unit can hold up to 25 packages at a time, and New Yorkers who sign up can drop off or pick up packages any time of day and track their package status online.
The pilot comes amid a post-pandemic explosion of delivery commerce in the city. About 80% of New Yorkers receive at least one delivery per week, according to the Department of Transportation, and 20% of households are receiving at least 4 parcels weekly.
But with the explosion in delivery has come a huge rise in package theft. The city says that about 90,000 packages are reported stolen or lost in transit each day in the five boroughs, many from buildings without a doorman or secure mailroom.
GoLocker units, meanwhile, can only be accessed via a QR code or an access code sent to the user. Each GoLocker is also equipped with a surveillance camera.
While GoLocker operates a network of lockers that require paid membership, the lockers in the LockerNYC pilot will be free to use, and will not cost taxpayers any money as part of a free demonstration of the tech, officials said.
Locker sites include:
- 830 Lafayette Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
- 1380 Rockaway Parkway, Canarsie, Brooklyn
- 1086 Brooklyn Avenue, East Flatbush, Brooklyn
- 2036 Bedford Avenue, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn
- 47-01 49th Street, Sunnyside, Queens
Two more will also soon be online at:
- 72-80 Wyckoff Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn
- 778 9th Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan
