A crowd of a whole bunch descended on Metropolis Corridor April 9 to rally for and towards a council invoice, Intro 518, that may create a licensing requirement for last-mile supply amenities, together with job security necessities.
Amid the explosive progress of on-line ordering lately, greater than 1 billion packages are anticipated to be delivered in NYC this 12 months alone. But distributing these items shortly comes at a value to folks and the setting.
On the rally and subsequent council listening to, supporters mentioned the invoice is critical as a result of supply staff are compelled to prioritize velocity above all, leading to an awesome workload the place they work whereas ailing, haven’t any time to eat or use the lavatory, do unsafe heavy lifting, use autos in disrepair and doubtlessly drive in a hazardous method — all of which places staff and the general public in danger.
Supporters consider that licensing is the one method to maintain corporations accountable when issues go improper. However opponents mentioned the invoice represents authorities overreach and would lead to vital job losses at a precarious time for town’s economic system. An evaluation by consulting agency AKRF estimates that greater than 10,000 NYC jobs may very well be misplaced if the invoice takes impact.
The laws already has a broad base of help from the Mandani administration, Queens rep Tiffany Cabán as lead sponsor and 30 extra co-sponsors, together with Bronx members Justin Sanchez, Amanda Farías, Pierina Sanchez, Althea Stevens, Elsie Encarnacion and Shirley Aldebol, who serves on the Committee on Client and Employee Safety.
Nonetheless, Intro 518 additionally faces robust opposition from native chamber of commerce leaders, in addition to New York Delivers, a coalition of small enterprise homeowners and staff who introduced a whole bunch out to protest the invoice’s influence on subcontractors — and the opposite companies that depend on them.
Forward of the ten a.m. listening to, about 100 opponents of the invoice rallied on the Metropolis Corridor steps with indicators that learn, “Don’t kill jobs!” and “Intro 518 hurts NYC small businesses.” A number of hundred extra waited outdoors the gates and weren’t let in till the listening to.
The rally was led by Rudy Cazares, proprietor of Pelham Bay-based Cazar Logistics LLC, considered one of Amazon’s prime subcontractors.
Cazares, who owns a supply firm within the Bronx, led the opposition rally. Photograph by Emily Swanson
Cazares, a Marine Corps vet raised in Queens by Mexican immigrant mother and father, mentioned his firm has delivered 20 million packages all through the Bronx and Queens. As well as, it has additionally delivered 140,000 meals to veterans and repair members for gratis to town, he mentioned.
Cazares mentioned Intro 518 is an overreach that may kill his firm.
“This is New York City deciding who gets to do business in this city. And if small businesses like ours are pushed out, those opportunities don’t grow,” he mentioned. “Protect our workers, absolutely. But do not do it by destroying small businesses that already employ them.”
After the rally, Cazares instructed the Bronx Instances he shares the council’s considerations about employee security, air air pollution and different points the invoice goals to handle.
Town has beforehand recognized critical considerations with the last-mile supply trade. The Nov. 2025 Comptroller report, “Fast Shipping, Slow Justice: Traffic, Worker, and Climate Hazards in Last Mile Delivery,” famous steep will increase in site visitors crashes and accidents close to last-mile distribution amenities, although not all the time involving supply autos.
It additionally pointed to elevated air air pollution in areas with excessive concentrations of last-mile amenities, corresponding to Hunts Level within the Bronx and Pink Hook, Brooklyn, in addition to excessive charges of employee accidents.
The licensing requirement would convey subcontractors into the fold as direct workers. With out that measure, supporters say corporations can evade accountability for his or her injured staff and more and more polluted neighborhoods.
Whereas Cazares and others agreed these issues ought to be addressed, they disagreed that Intro 518 is the perfect resolution.
He mentioned his firm is already working to scale back air pollution. He mentioned he participated in an Amazon e-bike pilot program and has some electrical autos, although not your complete fleet.
“We’re all 100% about the environment and our community, which is why we doubled down on safety, why we doubled down on wanting to go electric,” Cazares mentioned.
He mentioned your complete premise of the invoice ought to be revisited to incorporate extra enter from trade leaders like him.
“I think we start from scratch,” he mentioned. “This bill did not go through any real process to really, truly understand – how do we make it about the workers and not special interests?”
A balancing act
The invoice’s lead sponsor, Tiffany Cabán of Queens, was amongst a number of electeds who joined the smaller group of Amazon Teamsters rallying to cross the invoice.
“We’ve seen workers forced to drive vans literally held together with f—ing tape, and they’re forced to urinate in bottles so that they can meet impossible quotas and ever shorter delivery windows,” Cabán mentioned. “This is a public safety issue, period.”
Epstein, who chairs the committee overseeing the listening to, additionally joined supporters.
“I’m going to stand with workers and stand with this union and these union brothers and sisters, and say this is enough. People deserve to work in safe conditions.”
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso mentioned the last-mile trade can endure profitable reform with out folding, utilizing the trash carting trade for instance. He mentioned nobody is asking Amazon to depart New York Metropolis however moderately to satisfy increased requirements.
“The least you can do is have a standard that matches your profit margins,” he mentioned. “Make it so that you’re the greatest company in the city of New York, that your employees get paid more than anyone else, have the best health insurance, have the best safety standards. That is the standard that we want you to set here in New York City.”
Tons of of individuals turned out to rally and testify for and towards the last-mile invoice on April 9, 2026. Photograph by Emily Swanson
Lisa Sorin, president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, mentioned the invoice would lead to job losses within the borough.
She mentioned she spoke with eight Bronx enterprise homeowners and concluded that 1,200 jobs could be misplaced if the laws passes.
Sorin additionally mentioned staff usually are not essentially higher off as direct workers of a big company.
She mentioned many last-mile companies like Cazares’ are owned by immigrant, veteran and/or first-generation entrepreneurs who help their staff by mentorship, tuition reimbursement and extra.
Town ought to cope with dangerous actors individually moderately than a one-size-fits-all strategy, since most last-mile homeowners don’t mistreat their staff, Sorin mentioned.
“These are not faceless operators. … They have achieved the American dream and are now working with their employees to do the same.”
Her Brooklyn counterpart, Randy Friends of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, mentioned the invoice would “put a whole subsector of the economy out of business” at a time when town can little afford to take action.
Below the invoice, giant corporations couldn’t be compelled to rehire subcontractors as their workers — so preserving these jobs shouldn’t be a given, Friends mentioned.
He mentioned that final 12 months, in New York Metropolis, extra companies closed than opened for the primary time for the reason that pandemic. “Do you really want to now shut down a whole sector of our economy?”
‘This act will save lives’
On the listening to, Carlos Ortiz, chief of employees for town Division of Client and Employee Safety, mentioned the company and the Mamdani administration help the invoice.
Licensing might be an essential technique of holding dangerous actors accountable, and the subcontractor mannequin has so far “shielded” corporations from any legal responsibility, he mentioned.
If the invoice is applied, the company should rigorously steadiness enterprise wants with the brand new rules, he mentioned.
Numerous folks testified in individual and by way of video, with some supporters of the invoice saying that corporations can’t be trusted to guard staff.
One participant, Ira, mentioned he labored with Amazon from 2019 to 2025 and witnessed a “daily disregard for the safety of workers and the public.”
The corporate had what he referred to as an “obsession with speed,” leading to a harmful, chaotic setting with “vans speeding all over the area” as folks rushed to load the autos. Ira mentioned the corporate additionally behaved irresponsibly throughout a COVID outbreak, a extreme storm and different situations.
Ira mentioned he witnessed accidents and lots of shut calls, but Amazon denied legal responsibility. He additionally mentioned he couldn’t discover any clear security tips for workers.
“Safety at Amazon does not exist unless they’re using it to discipline workers, and then they make up rules out of thin air,” he mentioned. “This act will save lives.”
