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Chamber CEO testifies against flawed last-mile delivery bill

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NEW YORK, NY – April 9, 2026 – Today, Jessica Walker, President and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, testified before the New York City Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection along with representatives from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. During the hearing, Walker formally expressed the Chamber’s strong opposition to Int. 0518-2026 in its entirety.

While the Chamber strongly supports the goals of fair pay, real accountability, and safer streets for delivery workers, Walker testified that the mechanism chosen in this bill would fail to achieve those outcomes while causing severe collateral damage.

Her testimony highlighted that Int. 0518-2026 would:

  • Add a thirteenth regulatory regime to an industry that is already heavily governed by twelve existing local, state, and federal frameworks.

  • Eliminate dozens of local, independently owned small businesses across the five boroughs, putting thousands of New Yorkers out of work.

  • Act as a "tariff" on every New Yorker by forcing operators to pass massive compliance, capital, and labor costs downstream to consumers who rely on deliveries for everyday essentials.

  • Incentivize delivery companies to relocate their facilities just outside city limits to avoid regulations, which would keep trucks on our streets but generate more emissions due to longer delivery routes.

Instead of a sweeping intervention that lacks independent economic analysis, Walker urged the City Council to pursue targeted, practical solutions to protect delivery workers. The Chamber advocated for five concrete alternatives:

  • Fully funding the under-resourced Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.

  • Regulating delivery quotas directly to stop unrealistic productivity targets.

  • Mandating vehicle safety technology such as side guards and automated emergency braking.

  • Fixing the street infrastructure around last-mile facilities with dedicated loading zones and protected bike lanes.

  • Requiring operators to publicly report injury and crash data on a per-facility basis.

The Manhattan Chamber represents over 125,000 businesses and remains committed to working with the Council on legislation that genuinely improves safety without dismantling the small businesses that serve as the backbone of the borough.

 

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