New York City Council Rejects Grocery Delivery Bill

The New York City Council has turned down a contentious grocery delivery bill pushed by Mayor Eric Adams, arguing that increased costs for delivery companies could lead to higher prices in supermarkets.

Members of the Council largely voted to support a bill introduced by Council member Sandiners.

“Today, we stand against a mayor who has turned his back on workers struggling with poverty wages,” the Council member stated.

Progressives are discussing new legislation aimed at raising wages for delivery drivers to over $21 per hour.

“When you order groceries through an app, they don’t just magically appear,” she explained. “Delivery workers, who are just trying to make a living, deserve to put food on their own tables. Int. 1135 guarantees that grocery delivery workers will receive at least a minimum wage.”

The Council is also expected to overturn Mayor Adams’ veto of a bill by Councillor Jennifer Gutierrez that aims to ensure food delivery workers have access to bathrooms, fire safety gear, and insulated delivery bags.

“For a mayor who portrays himself as a champion of the working class, these vetoes are not just disappointing—they’re an affront,” Gutierrez commented.

Her bill further calls for the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to evaluate the working conditions of delivery workers to set a new minimum wage for them.

“These measures are intended to protect the very workers his own administration claims to care about,” Gutierrez added. “It’s downright cynical for City Hall to try to hinder its own ideas. New Yorkers deserve better than this political maneuvering.”