I don't know the details of this story, but we don't have many freight trains in New York City. It's an island, and the nearest rail bridge to the mainland is

I don't know the details of this story, but we don't have many freight trains in New York City. It's an island, and the nearest rail bridge to the mainland is upstate (280 mile detour!). There is some car float traffic to Brooklyn, there is an occasional freight train in the Bronx near the Metro North tracks, but in general, it's not really a thing in NYC. I am guessing this particular incident concerns the LIRR's coach yard in the aptly-named neighborhood of Hudson Yards, or NJT/Amtrak's yard in Sunnyside. Either way, it doesn't have much to do about bringing goods into the cities. This is instead a good-old commuters-versus-residents thing.