Legislature supports Minority Caucus effort to cap third party food delivery service fees during a declared emergency like COVID-19

Modified: January 21, 2021 3:58pm

01/21/2021

 

Erie County Legislators Joe Lorigo, Frank Todaro, Chris Greene, and John Mills have introduced a resolution in favor of limiting fees food delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub can collect from restaurants during a declared emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution cleared the Legislature Thursday morning and supports a bill that passed the State Senate and will soon be taken up by the Assembly.

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, bars and restaurants in Erie County have dealt with months of operating for takeout only.In December, the Minority Caucus introduced a Local Law that would cap the fees that 3rd party food delivery apps may charge at 20 percent to provide some relief for the struggling restaurant industry. This week, a bill with the same intent has been passed by the State Senate and a companion bill is anticipated to come before the Assembly any day now (New York Lawmakers seek to rein in food delivery fees).

Legislator Lorigo said, “This is a timely issue as our local restaurant community is pleading for help. Since I introduced the local law last month, I’ve heard from many restaurants supportive of the effort to cap these fees. I’m encouraged to see our state leadership agrees and I’m proud to lead the way in starting the discussion at a local level. I hope to see this become a statewide law in the coming days and want to provide some badly needed relief for bars and restaurants throughout our community.”

Legislator Todaro said, “I’ve had conversations with local restaurant owners in our community who would benefit from this law. I’m glad it is closer to becoming a reality and I’m happy to have the support of my colleagues in the Legislature.”

Legislator Greene said, “This will be a big help to restaurants that are struggling. Since the pandemic began, they have been forced to rely on takeout sales and using these third party delivery services. Unfortunately, it’s become very costly. I hope our state legislature will move quickly to sign this into law.”

Legislator Mills said, “As the owner of a food distribution business in Orchard Park, I have seen firsthand how hard the past 10 months have been on our local restaurant industry and our community as a whole. During an emergency such as this, these third party services should not be able to charge bloated feestaking advantage of both restaurants and customers. I was proud to be a sponsor of our local law, I support the state legislation, and want to help our restaurants and small business community recover.”

 

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