Upper East Side Delivery Center Endangers Neighbors, Menin Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A rapid grocery delivery center is endangering its Upper East Side neighbors by flouting traffic laws and clogging nearby streets, a local lawmaker charged this week.

The Gopuff location on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 90th Street was formerly a Duane Reade pharmacy before being converted into a mini-warehouse in recent months. It is one of several Manhattan storefronts run by the company, which promises deliveries of food, medicine and other home goods within 15 to 20 minutes of an order being placed.

To achieve that ambitious goal, Gopuff and many of its 15-minute competitors send workers out on e-bikes to race around the neighborhood — a practice that puts pedestrians at risk, according to City Councilmember Julie Menin.

According to Menin, "numerous constituents" have complained about Gopuff's Lexington Avenue location, saying workers on motorized scooters and bicycles are "riding on the sidewalks at dangerous speeds."

The trend has hit close to home for the lawmaker: a cyclist riding the wrong way in a bike lane nearly hit Menin's three-year-old daughter while out on a recent walk, according to Menin's office.

"It is an unacceptable and unsafe business practice to prioritize rapid delivery times over the safety of the families and community of the Upper East Side," Menin said in a letter sent Tuesday to Gopuff's CEOs.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gopuff and other rapid delivery apps have come under scrutiny for other reasons amid their venture capital-fueled expansion around the city. Last year, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer alleged that several such businesses — including this Gopuff location — were operating illegally by running mini-warehouses out of storefronts that were zoned for traditional retail shops.

The warehouses have become known as "dark stores," since most do not allow any public access. Their expansion has prompted concern about the rise of "dark cities," in which delivery enterprises would cut down on street commerce and put traditional corner shops out of business.

Menin, meanwhile, also says that Gopuff's delivery drivers tend to idle in their cars for "long periods of time" — emitting fumes that pose an environmental hazard, she says.

"The Carnegie [Hill] Gopuff location is a dark site and does not add benefit or service to the neighborhood," one resident wrote in a complaint shared by Menin's office.

In her letter, Menin asks Gopuff to advise its workers to "respect traffic and pedestrian walkways," cut down on idling, and avoid making what she calls "misleading claims" about its delivery times.

App-based delivery workers have waged a campaign of their own in New York, recently securing a package of civil rights protections after speaking out about their working conditions.

Related coverage: 2 UES 'Dark Stores' Are Operating Illegally, Boro Prez Says