Council hearing examines Intro 518 to license last‑mile facilities, require direct employment

The City Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection held a multi‑hour hearing on Intro 518, the ‘‘Delivery Protection Act,’’ a bill sponsored by Council Member Kaban that would require operators of certain large “last‑mile” warehouses to obtain business licenses from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and directly employ core delivery and warehouse workers.

Council Member Kaban, the bill’s lead sponsor, said the city’s rapid growth in e‑commerce has outpaced regulatory tools and pointed to a controller report showing spikes in traffic crashes and high workplace injury rates near last‑mile facilities. “When these accidents happen, the company who controls the van, the worker, and the route suddenly tells us that this worker is not their employee,” Kaban told the committee, reading a substitution of concerns he said he had received from drivers who worry they face retaliation for speaking out.

The administration’s witnesses said they support many of the bill’s goals. Carlos Ortiz, DCWP deputy commissioner, said the agency backs licensing as a way to hold facility operators accountable for training, safety and labor protections — but cautioned the committee that DCWP would need time and staffing to implement a new licensing regime. Ortiz said the agency would look to partner with the Department of Transportation and the Police Department on crash and street‑safety data and estimated that standing up a licensing program at scale would require hundreds of days and additional budget and staff to be effective.

The controller’s office, which released a report cited heavily at the hearing, told the committee last‑mile facilities are concentrated near residential neighborhoods and documented higher crash counts and workplace injury rates in areas around recently opened facilities. The office’s analyst said that between 2017 and 2022, 78% of nearby areas experienced increases in injury‑causing crashes after a new last‑mile facility opened, and that last‑mile workplaces reported much higher injury rates than the national private‑sector average.

Supporters — including labor unions, the comptroller and environmental justice advocates — urged the council to pass licensing, direct‑employment rules, independent training requirements and anti‑retaliation protections to restore accountability and reduce injuries and pollution in communities that host these facilities.

Opponents included many small delivery service partners (DSPs), business and chamber groups, and trade associations. They warned the bill’s direct‑employment mandate could put thousands of small businesses out of business, reduce opportunities for entrepreneurs, and raise delivery costs for New Yorkers. Owners of small DSPs and ebike/walker services described W‑2 employment models, benefits they provide (health coverage, PTO, tuition reimbursement and 401(k) matches), and local hiring efforts. Several owners said they operate electric fleets and community programs and argued targeted training, vehicle‑safety rules and more DCWP enforcement funding would address safety concerns without upending small firms.

Workers who testified were sharply divided: many delivery drivers and union organizers described unsafe vehicles, abbreviated training, production pressure and alleged retaliation when workers tried to organize; other drivers and managers testified they have steady W‑2 jobs with benefits and described how small employers had given them second chances or career ladders. Several drivers described incidents they said resulted from vehicle defects or insufficient safety equipment, and multiple witnesses urged clearer lines of legal responsibility for parent companies that set routes, technology and performance standards.

The hearing produced no vote. Committee members and witnesses repeatedly returned to implementation questions — how licensing would be defined, what the compliance timeline should be, how DCWP would be funded and staffed, and whether the city could rely on DOT and NYPD data to monitor street safety. The committee invited stakeholders to submit written comments and indicated further amendments and deliberations would follow.

What’s next: the council committee will review testimony and mark up the bill; if advanced, Intro 518 would still need a full council vote and a funding plan for DCWP enforcement. Supporters say licensing would restore accountability; opponents say the bill as drafted risks harming small business and local jobs unless it is narrowed or paired with implementation guarantees.

Sources: testimony from Council Member Kaban and DCWP witnesses; the Office of the New York City Comptroller report on last‑mile delivery; panels of labor, advocacy and business witnesses from the committee hearing.