Delivery Workers Cheer Restroom Access and Tip Transparency Alongside AOC and Chuck Schumer
Gabriel Lopez, who has been making a living as a food delivery worker for over 18 months, braved the elements in Midtown, Jan. 21, 2022. Hiram Alejandro Durán/ THE CITY
Starting Sept. 24, New York City’s app-based food delivery workers are entitled to increased clarity on their daily earnings and tips, and the right to use most restaurant bathrooms, as new laws begin their rollout.
The Deliveristas celebrated the new protections Sunday afternoon with a rally in Times Square, flanked by allies including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-The Bronx/Queens) and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has advocated for federal funds to create rest stops for the workers and other supports.
Also joining were city Comptroller Brad Lander and Councilmembers Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan) and Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), among the lawmakers who introduced the Council bills.
The rally drew dozens of Deliveristas, many of whom hail from Indigenous communities from Mexico and Guatemala. Workers from Bangladesh and Mali also participated.
“We’re going to see big, big changes with these laws,” upper Manhattan delivery worker Manny Ramírez, 34, told THE CITY on Friday. “The discrepancy between what the client thinks we get paid and what the apps actually pay was immense — but now there is more awareness, and we felt like we’d won with that alone.”
“We feel like winners,” said Ernesta Galvez, 40, who works for the Relay app and is one of the few women among the Deliveristas. “It’s emotional to think about how far we’ve come.”
Ocasio-Cortez said in a phone interview on Sunday that the local gains for delivery workers send important signals nationally.
“What we’re seeing with the Deliveristas and the working class in New York, particularly tech workers, is such a strong counterpoint to what we’ve seen in California,” she said, noting that state’s ban on gig workers being recognized as full time employees.
A Westchester man was arrested on May 1 and booked at the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica for an unprovoked attack on an F train rider at the 169th Street subway station in Jamaica Hills last month.
Devon Pennant, 27, whose last known address was at the Croton Heights apartments on Ashburton Avenue in Yonkers, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on May 2 on a complaint charging him with assault and harassment for an incident that occurred during the early morning hours of Friday, Apr. 12.
The local grocery store Dumbo Market has signed a lease for approximately 13,500 square feet of space at Jasper, a $370 million mixed-use development in Long Island City.
Two married Queens cops were arrested at their home on Monday morning after allegedly attacking each other during a dispute, sources familiar with the matter reported.
The Queens Chamber of Commerce, the oldest and largest business association in the borough, announced Friday that the winner of its inaugural “Queens’ Best Halal Restaurant Competition” was the Astoria modern Thai fusion restaurant Nur Thai.
The gym at the High School for Law Enforcement and Safety in St. Albans was buzzing with excitement as teenagers picked out their prom outfits from racks upon racks of free glamorous gowns and suits at the 10th annual NYPD “Prom Impact” event on Saturday, May 4.