NYC Mayor Eric Adams and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer have announced a brand-new hub program that will serve the thousands of food delivery workers throughout NYC.
The Street Deliveristas Hub is a pilot program that will utilize empty or underused public spaces throughout NYC — such as vacant newsstands, for example —and transform them into hubs that will provide food delivery workers with a variety of services.
The hubs will reportedly offer food delivery workers a place to shelter from any harsh weather elements, as well as giving them a place to rest. In addition, the hubs will also provide charging stations to charge both cell phones and electric bikes, as well as offering bike repair services.
According to a press release from the Mayor's Office, the Street Deliveristas Hub is the first-of-its-kind in the nation. The hub program was made possible by a $1 million federal grant that Senate Majority Leader Schumer secured.
With app-based food delivery services becoming so popular as a result of the pandemic, Mayor Adams says that essential services are important to provide for the thousands of hardworking food delivery workers in this industry. Especially because their line of work does not offer the same traditional services that workers in other industries would normally get.
"Deliveristas are out there doing the hard work, day in and day out, and are essential to New Yorkers' way of life and to our city's economy, and essential workers deserve essential services," said Mayor Adams.
"While most people have a break room to rest while at work, app-based food delivery workers do not. I'm proud to partner with Majority Leader Schumer to create the first-in-the-nation Street Deliveristas Hubs that will eventually help serve the more than 65,000 deliveristas in New York City.
"By investing in existing, underused spaces, like vacant newsstands, this program will ensure our public spaces serve all and ‘Get Stuff Done' for some of our hardest working New Yorkers."
