STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Amazon says a new 450,000-square-foot warehouse leased in Bloomfield will be used as a delivery station that will help speed up deliveries to local residents.

The new building on Staten Islands West Shore in Matrix Global Logistics Park is located next to its existing $100 million, 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center, which opened in 2017. That facility employs more then 4,000 people who work alongside robots to pick, pack and ship customer orders that are delivered to various geographic areas.

We are excited to increase our investment in Staten Island with a new delivery station to speed up delivery times for customers, and provide hundreds of job opportunities for the talented local workforce," said an Amazon spokesperson.

The new warehouse will have a different use than the existing Staten Island Amazon facility. It will be for last mile deliveries," which means packages from the facility will go to a specific geographic area, likely within the five boroughs, a source told the Advance on Tuesday.

Delivery stations power the last mile of our order process and help speed up deliveries for customers, said the spokesperson. "Packages are shipped there from neighboring Amazon fulfillment and sortation centers and loaded into vehicles to get delivered to customers."

The spokesman said the new site will open sometime this year, but couldnt yet say how many people will be hired to work at the facility.

In addition to the two Amazon warehouses, Matrix Global Logistics Park houses an IKEA facility and a yet-to-be-complete 975,000-square-foot building.

RECENT RALLY

In November, more than 100 protesters rallied in front of Staten Islands Amazon fulfillment center for better working conditions amid reports of high rates of injuries at the Bloomfield facility.

The crowd -- made up of some Amazon workers, politicians, and members of the teamsters and other local unions, Make the Road New York and New York Communities for Change -- chanted such phrases as Amazon, Amazon you cant hide. We can see your greedy side.

The Advance also reported on a study by Make the Road New York and New York Communities for Change that claims that Staten Island workers are injured more often than coal miners, waste collection workers, and other laborers.

However, Rachael Lighty, an Amazon spokeswoman, issued the following statement immediately following the rally: Fewer than five Amazon associates participated in the event outside of the Staten Island fulfillment center this evening. It was obvious to the 4,500-full-time workforce that an outside organization used our building and the upcoming retail holidays to raise its own visibility and spread misinformation."

"The fact is that Amazon provides a safe, quality work environment in which associates are the heart and soul of the customer experience, and todays event, and the notable lack of Amazon employee participation, shows that associates know this to be true, she added.

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Amazon: New Staten Island facility will speed up deliveries - SILive.com