Erie County Legislator Chris Greene has 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 3^rd 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 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.”