“Affordability” is New Yorkers’ No. 1 issue, per Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. So what did the City Council just do?
It passed a measure (by a veto-proof majority) virtually guaranteeing grocery prices will shoot up — specifically, by requiring app-based delivery companies to shell out a minimum of about $21 an hour to delivery workers.
The companies will just pass on their added costs to the public, driving business down in the process.
The union representing the city’s first responders say under the new rates, rookie FDNY EMTs — whose starting pay is $39,386 — will earn less than illegal-immigrant deliveristas.
And who knows how many of these delivery workers will soon be out of jobs, thanks to this bill: When the council, in December 2023, bumped up the minimum wage to $18 for app-based restaurant delivery workers, menu prices jumped 12% and app fees