By WSR Editorial Board
By a 27-8 vote Tuesday night, Community Board 7 rejected a plan to create a rest and recharging hub for deliveristas near the subway stop at West 72nd Street and Broadway. The vote, in which two board members abstained, could be a setback for a proposal made by Mayor Eric Adams last October.
The hub proposal, already turned down by CB7’s Transportation and Parks & Environment Committees last month, would transform an abandoned green newsstand south of the 72nd Street subway station into a gathering place for the city’s deliveristas, allowing them to rest and charge their bikes. The workers, who deliver restaurant orders by bicycle throughout the Upper West Side, are independent contractors for apps like Grubhub or Relay. The apps do not provide them with resting places or charging stations for their electric bikes; as the Rag has reported, many of the deliveristas gather in abandoned dining sheds or at street intersections while they wait for new orders to pop up on their phones.
The community board’s vote does not mean the hub proposal is dead. The board has only advisory authority, though the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation told the Rag this week that public opinion will impact how the city moves forward with the hub proposal. “We are committed to hearing community concerns and will consider — in partnership with City Hall, Community Boards, and relevant stakeholders — all feedback as we move forward on working with [Los Deliveristas Unidos, a group that represents the workers] on a design,” a department spokesperson said in an email to the Rag.
During discussion of the proposal at Tuesday night’s board meeting, Natasha Kazmi, co-chairperson of the board’s Parks & Environment Committee, said locating the hub at a busy UWS traffic spot was a mistake. “This location, at the nexus of three subway lines, five bus lines and a neighborhood heavily populated with commercial and residential buildings is wholly inappropriate for this facility,” said Kazmi.
Other board members who spoke against the 72nd Street location said the deliveristas do need their own facilities. “Deliveristas deserve a whole lot better than what this tiny little postage stamp represents,” said board member Mark Diller.
Three Upper West Side block associations – representing West 71st, West 72nd and West 73rd Streets – issued a joint statement urging the city to reconsider the plan. “We all agree our delivery personnel deserve good working conditions, but this location does not meet these needs,” the groups wrote.
Concerns were also raised about the safety of the lithium batteries used in e-bikes, citing NYCHA’s recent decision to prohibit them in public buildings. If a battery catches fire, board member Kazmi said, there’s a risk that it will quickly spread in a congested area. Councilmember Gale Brewer recently co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the sale of reconditioned lithium-ion batteries.
Board member Ken Coughlin, who voted to support the hub, said its location in a central, heavily trafficked area actually made it a convenient choice for deliveristas taking orders from throughout the neighborhood. “Many people said it’s already too congested, but if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that at a community board meeting, I’d be a rich man,” he said. “It’s code for, ‘We don’t want anything new.’ ”
William Medina, a member of the worker’s support group Los Deliveristas Unidos, said in the meeting that the hub would help workers meet their basic needs between deliveries. “Deliveristas hubs are an opportunity to give workers a dignified physical space to rest, charge our bikes and shelter ourselves,” he said.
Antonio Solís, another deliverista who spoke at the board meeting, noted that during the pandemic, deliveristas were treated as essential workers. “After two years of struggle we have come out of the shadows to fight for our rights and for the community to recognize the work we do to provide a better life for our families while caring for theirs,” he said.
Some deliveristas interviewed on Upper West Side streets this week said they didn’t know about the hub proposal. But all agreed on the need to build resting places, especially ones with public restrooms. Rolando Hernández, a Hidalgo-born Mexican who started working as a deliverista 11 years ago, says that despite city regulations, “there are many [restaurants] that don’t allow us to use the bathroom.”
“It would be nice to be able to rest during the break,” said Hernández’s cousin Marcelino, also interviewed in Spanish. Marcelino said he hoped the city moves forward with building a new rest hub, a place where deliveristas can go “to relax and have some coffee.”
Aside from the issue of this facility, it was my understanding that the City Council passed legislation requiring restaurants to allow bathroom. access to delivery workers?
Yes, the Council approved regulation last year, but they give restaurants many exceptions adn they don’t comply with the law. The majority of the deliveristas say that owners don’t allow them to use their facilities and they demand more public bathrooms.
This is the city’s decision.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/media/pr042122-Adams-DCWP-New-Protections-for-Food-Delivery-Workers.page
With all due respect, Ken Coughlin is not especially interested in subway riders, the problems with that location etc.
His focus is bicycles, advocating for TransAlt.
Transportation Alternatives is most definitely interested in transit. Their goal is to make streets safer and move people into more environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Their focus is primarily above ground, focused on streets, so yes, bikes are a big part of their focus. But so are buses. They advocate for bus lanes, busways, and other ways to increase bus speeds and efficiency. The fact that some people are using transit as an excuse to be against the hub does not mean it is a legitimate excuse. People often try to use reasoning that is not related, or even not true, to push their opinion. How many blatantly racist laws and regulations have public rationals that try to make them look like they are not racist? Not that I am advocating for the hub there. The central location of this proposal is ideal, being at the crossroads of a major E/W artery (72nd) and two N/S arteries (Broadway & Amsterdam) but I do think the island there is too congested already for the hub and it would be better off in a storefront with dedicated parking on the street in front.
Josh,
As a pedestrian and bus/subway rider I personally have no faith in Transportation Alternatives.
This was cemented learning that Transportation Alternatives advocated for “open streets” even on bus route streets and forcing bus diversion.
Except in this case the area they want to use is tiny. The fact that it is at the confluence of all those traffic congested streets and subways and pedestrians is what makes it totally an inappropriate space. It’s not hyperbole to say it’s too small for the intended use. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
The only thing Transportation Alternatives has fought for in the 30 years I have been watching has been bikes and bike lanes — pedestrians be damned. Two legs are the best transportation device known to man, and TA does nothing for pedestrians and floods the City with reckless bike riders.
I have been acquainted with TA for 40 years. Back then a good friend was heavily involved with them, helped develop maps, literature, etc, some of which I still have.
They were involved in education and in promoting responsible biking and sharing of public space. As someone who has biked in the city for 60 years now, I thought them quite worthwhile.
Like the NRA on the right, however, TA has become a rather extreme group whose interest is more about getting rid of cars than promoting overall safety and sharing of roads and public spaces. Coughlin’s actions and positions amply illustrate this.
Transportation Alternatives takes money from uber and lyft and other tech companies that benefit from gentrification.
In fact if you review CB7 minutes and meetings, Coughlin has consistently advocated for street safety for all users, especially pedestrians who are disproportionately the victims of traffic violence, still, in this city. Is street safety an extreme position? I guess it is if you are a car owner which is much like being a gun owner since both kill at approximately the same rate in NYC
Ms Oran, you are incorrect. Coughlin expressly advocated against enforcing rules that keep bike riders from terrorizing pedestrians on the streets and in Central Park.
In my 45 years on the UWS, I have never felt more unsafe on the streets, due solely to bicycles, principally the motorized bikes.
This needs to be controlled before more people are injured, or, as we have already seen, killed.
Ducking bikes is a daily exercise if you walk on the UWS. On Sunday night I was walking home with a friend from a local restaurant. We crossed Amsterdam Ave. with the light in the crosswalk and a biker in the bike lane went through the light and came right at us! It was a near miss! Not only did he go through the light but he screamed at us that we should watch what we’re doing!! Well I yelled back at him-‘You just went through a red light and almost ran us over and you’re yelling at me!’ That’s the arrogance that seems to be the mindset of many-not all people riding bikes be they deliveristas or regular cyclists. I know it because I’ve nearly been hit more times than I can count! This is wholly unacceptable. And if the Mayor or our other elected leaders wanted to stop it, they could.
You know what would be a great use for this “abandoned” news stand? A police kiosk, where police officers would be stationed 24/7 and the public could easily find them.
Excellent idea…even if they only post an auxiliary trainee there who can summon pd directly.
Gale..what ya think??
Finally an idea that could benefit everyone. Except the bad guys.
I understand that the delivery people need a place to rest and recharge batteries but that location is way too trafficked and crowded as it is. The bikes in front of the pizza place and McDonald’s between 70th and 71st street and Broadway is an example of an obstacle course. There must be a less congested area for these delivery people.
Delivery people work for a company, either a delivery service or a restaurant. These businesses are responsible for their recharging and bathrooms, not the general public.
Sorry, restaurants have gotten more than their share of accomodations during the pandemic. They need to accept their responsibilities as business owners. (While we’re at it, how about cleaning the sidewalks in front of their establishments?)
Huh? Deliveristas don’t work for restaurants, they are independent contractors.
Not all.
Honestly, as long as it is going to allow battery charging,I would rather have the hub in a freestanding location similar to this one than house it in a building. If it is just a rest stop, that is fine, but given the number of battery fires we are seeing, I think it is safer to have the rest stop in an open area like this,
The corporations that make millions should pay for and provide. This kind of facilities for their employees . It is time that corporations pay the costs of doing business and stop putting them on the public.
The site is inappropriate because it is too small and in very congested area. The plans as they exist are so ill-conceived that they are misleading.
I am glad CB7 rejected this proposal . I hope that the Adams Administration will pay attention.
That’s it. The station subsidizes private corporations that are sadly using their workers as beards. This would amount to taxpayer support for GrubHub, UberEats and the like.
It’s not 2020 anymore. People aren’t sheltering in place. There’s always been a degree of room in the city for deliveryworkers but the advent of electric motorcycles (those things go 20 mph+ & many riders wear proper crash helmets) that can torch buildings if the batteries are shoddy or improperly charged has changed everything. Add to that the bike shops that will modify the throttle mechanism of said ebikes to increase speed and the instability of most lithium ion batteries, and….well, you get it. This is not a safe profession for anyone, be they documented or not. And I haven’t even mentioned how dangerous (for them and everyone else) it is on the road without these guys salmoning around against traffic & busting red lights
Amen. The delivery app companies and restaurants (or ghost kitchens in many cases) need to take care of these workers. They may pass on the costs to their customers, or not. But this is clearly not the public’s problem to pay for. On the contrary, the problem (of the workers having no place to take care of their bodily needs) is caused by these apps and their restaurant partners. Why do we allow companies to colonize our public spaces? We need to stand up forcefully against this encroachment.
THIS! It’s disgusting to me these apps are getting rich off deliveristas risking their lives, while they invest zero in their community (excuse me, their “market” I don’t think they even know what a community is.) I’m also all for the city supporting the workers, but the fact we can’t regulate this to be a corporate responsibility is depressing. And I also agree, this is a bad place for an ebike hub; I was trying to walk fast to visit at a friend who lives on the west side of 72nd street and I had to do my fancy walking to get around the disproportionate number of seniors out and about there (and more power to them! I hope I’m still out and about when I’m that age!)
I know it won’t happen, but I’d like to see one of the large abandoned retail spaces on Broadway repurposed as an open-space “lounge” for delivery workers, with Seamless and Grubhub and Ubereats paying the bills–workers deserve to be warm and indoors, and if they could bring the bikes inside these big (fire proofed) spaces then they wouldn’t clutter the street
Right on! Three years ago there were no electric bikes — peddle bikes were just fine. Let’s go back to that danger … it was dangerous enough. There should be NO electric bikes in NYC unless they have license plates, lights, horns, and insurance like cars. End of story.
Well said.
– someone with a 1.2k left to pay on her ER bill after getting hit in October by an ebike going the wrong direction.
Sam,
Right. Before the Apps, restaurants only delivered locally, for example within 20 blocks. Delivery workers worked for the restaurant and used regular bicycles
Private equity dove right in on top of that. Just like Lyft and Uber did with the yellow cab industry they’ve gutted
Would anyone know….why is the Parks Department tasked with situating rest/charging stations?
Why wouldn’t the Mayor’s Office or DOT connect with/contract with existing charging stations and/or garages that have capacity and bathrooms?
What resources does Citibike have for example.
BTW my family does not order food delivery. Concerning that the City discussion assumes “everyone” orders delivery
Hi, Evi. Good comments, but I prefer that the restaurants and delivery companies themselves establish contracts with the stations and garages.
I refuse to order as I feel it encourages this. We live in a city. Its a short walk to pick up anything.
Why not put one of the innumerable, huge, empty storefronts, which now mar our neighborhood, to good use, and bring those deliveristas inside to rest. Let the city or the delivery companies, like GrubHub, contribute to the rent and to outfitting one of those enormous spaces with garage doors so the bikes can move in and out easily. It would help the deliveristas and, frankly, spare everybody else from the kind of congestion that occurs
when impromptu – or even planned – hubs pop up outside, blocking curbs and the sidewalks.
As long as the delivery companies pay and the batteries are monitored for compliance with UL standards.
Hi, Madeline. The facilities also would need intense fireproofing, and probably a couple types of insurance.
Good. Until these delivery workers start obeying traffic laws, stop riding on the sidewalks, and give pedestrians the right of way by stopping at red lights, I am not in favor of this hub on a very busy corner. I would like to see the Mayor enforce traffic infractions on delivery workers. I also agree with another poster that the business itself should provide a place for delivery workers to use bathrooms and rest. Why should this fall on taxpayers?
The deliveristas do need a spot, however. So if not 72nd–which is not ideal–where? This city is mad crowded already!! There must be other newsstands not in use. Why not one of those?
62nd is an unnecessarily wide street between Columbus and Amsterdam that can easily accommodate this.
That site choice is ridiculous. What happens in snow and rain? And it is TINY. The delivery ppl need a place w shelter and bathrooms. How about under the Hudson pkway in riverside park, with portable bathrooms and plenty of space??
Really? Do you want even more people with motorized vehicles and minimal regard for human life in Riverside Park?
This issue is so disgusting. It should not be open to debate that workers providing a necessary neighborhood service not have a safe space to use. The area isn’t congested. People are walking into or out of the subway station, not hanging out. The area would,be sufficiently large if the abandoned newspaper stand were dismantled. If the delivery people weren’t in the main brown skinned immigrants, would this be opposed?
Years ago, many of the deliveries were made by high school kids from the neighborhood. Bet if they were still making deliveries this would be much less of an issue.
Elliot,
What would be your expectation as to how bikers would access the island?
Go north on Broadway? Come up north on Amsterdam and crisscross?
Would they dismount ? Or ride up on to the island and then dismount?
Or would you expect people to bring their e-bikes via subway, which raises other space and safety issues.
BTW the intersection was much quieter before Trader Joe’s arrived in 2009.
Agree with JLM here. The problem isn’t the space itself. It’s definitely under-utilized. The problem is bike access + deliverista behavior. Make it a rest space, and the deliveristas will be riding their bikes up the same curb cuts pedestrians use to access the crosswalk, just like they do on the rest of the sidewalks. I.e. illegally and dangerously.
No bike riding on sidewalks by adults. Especially e-bike riding!!
I wonder how well the Mayor actually knows the Upper West Side to have suggested such a wholly inappropriate site for a charging station. It’s disturbing that he did not consult the community first. Or is he intending to rule without the community in his City of Yes? This decision was so premature it has to make you wonder. With battery fires, an immensely over-trafficked area atop a major subway station, and delivery workers who to date have no id and ignore traffic regulations while working for multi-million dollar delivery companies who provide no services for their workers-you cannot help but be struck by this misguided or purely political effort to build a charging station.
Remember the pandemic,, especially in the beginning, when these delivery people brought takeout, groceries, and so much to you? This likely saved many lives and prevented others from getting sick. Just give them this, and fine tune it later. I can see this spot from my building, and yet I’m a YIMBY here.
Steve,
We don’t order in. And we did not get delivery during the Covid emergency – we went shopping ourselves.
Not to be a social justice warrior here but for the record – during the Covid emergency my extended family made a commitment to give out $40-60 in cash each week to random delivery people, whoever we saw on our walks.
I’m OK with opposing this site that would be incredibly dangerous due to subway access and and complicated traffic
Give them what exactly? There was never a real plan shown to the public. Was it just going to be charging docks? Would there be benches to sit on while charging an e-Bike> Would a bathroom be built? If so would one have to be a delivery person to us e the charging station and bathroom? Would the charging be free or have a cost? If there is to be a bathroom built who cleans it ? This seems to have been more of a random idea than an actual plan. Instead of find tuning it later it would be better IMO to find the best spot before building anything.
Unreal, so they don’t support supporting those trying hard to make money – but will support a low threshold homeless shelter across from a grade school….
Let’s try part of the middle of Columbus Circle… the grand area around the statue is almost always devoid of pedestrians, and those on cycles have several access points.
What alternate spaces have been proposed for a rest and recharge station for the deliverers?
Richard-
My understanding is that the City was starting with three sites – one in the Bronx, a closed new stand by City Hall and the proposed 72nd Street site.
The sites seem to be abitrary . The 72nd Street site could not have been thought ought. Even on the West Side there are more spacious/less trafficky areas especially around Columbus Circle (north side of 58th between 8th and 9th, 61st and 62nd between Central Park and Broadway, 62nd-sidewalk by Damrosch Park Lincoln Center…)
The companies should pay for hubs. Rewrite the contract workers law to make it fair and realistic for everyone. These apps are bad for restaurants and workers, I don’t want my tax dollars doing helping these companies exploit its workers.
The aversion UWS residents have for safe haven and rest stop seems to contradict their votes, the votes for far left candidates, rights for illegal immigrants, rights for criminals, rights for homeless, etc. elections after elections. So what are you all upsetting about? Don’t mean to be rude but isn’t there some truth?
Would be nice if first you tell this guys to follow the simple rules like , not going on the sidewalks over people , respecting the people who cross the streets on the green lights .
Why not use existing charging stations like Blink?
Where does Citibike do ebike recharging?
There are numerous other areas in Manhattan with more space for a service area – for example Broadway south of 32 which is closed to traffic, the side streets by 15 CPW and others.
The proposal does not even explain the basic operational concept and logistics including capacity, access,
It is beyond baffling that a busy subway station and one of the most complicated traffic intersections was selected.
They would rather have a derelict eyesore than something of service to working people.
Can we start a campaign of stopping bikers on sidewalks before they get more comfortable? I see completely reckless jerks everywhere. Walking around the city is a nightmare because of these electric bikes. They’re not bikes, they’re motorcycles.
I had two close calls this morning. One with a motorcycle going through a red light headed straight towards me, the other with an e-scooter going the wrong way. When I left my home for lunch to my Senior Center I asked my doorman to pray for my safe return.
It’s the wild wild west on the streets of Manhattan. All bicycles, scooters, mopeds and motorcycles need to be licensed. Those without licenses should be confiscated, permanently. Stores that sell these devices should be heavily fined for selling to anyone without a valid license.
I’m confused. What happened to the good old days of actually riding a bycicle?
Irrespective, this isn’t a well thought idea. Potentially dozens of bikes all congregating around a bottle neck leading to a busy station house. It’s a lazy and half baked plan.
What is the reason that almost all delivery people wear masks that cover their entire face except their eyes. I was hit by one these men and ended up in the hospital. He took off after hitting me and there was no way to identify him because his face was totally covered except his eyes. Please don’t say its due to Covid concerns.
There are bathrooms by the pier on 70 th street and the river. A bike ramp to get to them, and seats and a place to buy coffee and tables to sit. The problem is where to safely charge those fire hazards.
These hardworking people who deliver food all over the neighborhood do “deserve a whole lot better than what this tiny little postage stamp represents.” But that unused space seems to be a perfect place to begin this Deliveristas Hubs on the UWS. Yes it will be a bit crowded during the rush hours but walking past the these guests to your neighborhood will be a perfect time to say hello and thank you. If it prevents one more building fire, that is good.
Can we please get our priorities straight? Before looking to better conditions for these workers, can we find a way to make them comply with traffic regulations to stop them from terrorizing pedestrians?? I am sick of them racing on sidewalks, going the wrong way on one way streets, going through red lights, racing on walking paths in the parks. For me, they are solely responsible for making walking in this city the most fearful experience I’ve had in 40 years of living here. The restaurants where they work or the delivery services that hire them should not employ anyone who won’t comply with safely regulations . And the employers should be heavily fined along with the workers for their infractions. Mayor Adam’s, figure this out first!