Mayor Eric Adams wants to create a new government agency to regulate the booming number of online deliveries in New York City — and may require tech giants to ensure their workers are following traffic laws.
During his State of the City address, the mayor proposed a new “Department of Sustainable Delivery” that would manage the tens of thousands of trucks, vans, e-bikes and mopeds that deliver packages and food across the five boroughs.
The proposal comes as the pandemic supercharged a shift toward e-commerce for deliveries of food and other goods. A report published by the city three years ago estimated that more than 2.7 million e-commerce packages would be delivered in the city every day in 2024 — nearly twice as many as in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those deliveries are made by e-bike. E-bike riders accounted for 22 of New York City’s 29 cycling deaths last year.
There are 65,000 delivery workers in New York City, according to city estimates, and the vast majority of them — more than 49,000 — do not use cars.
Meera Joshi, the deputy mayor for operations, said the new department would oversee delivery companies such as Amazon, GrubHub and DoorDash, similar to how the Taxi and Limousine Commission monitors cabs and for-hire vehicles.
“Government, I think it’s fair to say, it doesn’t move the same speed as tech, so we’re always playing a game of catchup,” Joshi said in an interview. “All of this activity and innovation comes with some downsides, and I think there’s very little dispute that New Yorkers feel a sense of chaos on our streets.”
Joshi said the new agency could require all delivery drivers and e-bike riders to have city IDs and have their routes tracked. Companies could also be required to manage delivery workers’ whereabouts through dispatchers and submit data on their speed and routes to ensure they’re following traffic laws.
Joshi noted that the Adams administration wants to encourage more delivery companies to…
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