Delivery Worker Hub Might Be Headed To Verdi Square On The UWS

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A charging and rest station for food delivery works might be headed to the Upper West Side, a Parks Department request shows and THE CITY first reported.

The proposal is part of the recently announced plan by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Mayor Eric Adams to convert vacant newsstands into havens to help the tens of thousands of food delivery workers across the city.

The recent proposal from the Parks Department to the city shows that Verdi Square outside of the 72nd Street 1, 2, and 3 subway station, along with another location in the Bronx, is the next site under consideration for a station.

A hub coming to City Hall Park was announced last year.

"LDU (Los Deliveristas Unidos) maintains that many food delivery workers can work 12 hours a day in the cold or rain for multiple food service apps and still not make enough to feed their own families," the Parks Department proposal to the city reads. "They cite that many food workers lost their jobs when the restaurants that employed them were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

The project to provide more services to delivery workers also looks to tackle the growing number of shuttered newsstands across the city.

"At the same time, many newsstand structures across New York City have closed in recent years," the Parks Department proposal reads. "Formerly Parks newsstand concessions, these structures are closed due to the diminished interest in the purchase of newspapers, and Parks has sought alternate ideas to revitalize the structures."

The Franchise and Concession Review Committee will hold a vote in the coming weeks about the possible new Upper West Side hub.

The exact timeline on the charging and rest station is still unclear.