New York City’s fight to rein in Amazon could come at a steep cost for Black entrepreneurs. A proposed Delivery Protection Act, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, aims to hold major corporations accountable for delivery workers’ safety and working conditions. But the legislation could also upend an industry where Black and immigrant business owners have carved out opportunities to build wealth and create jobs.
Sponsored by City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, the Delivery Protection Act, also known as Intro 518, would require certain last-mile warehouse operators to obtain city licenses, meet new safety and training standards and directly employ workers responsible for core delivery and warehouse operations. The measure targets the subcontracting model used by companies like Amazon, which rely on independent delivery businesses to get packages to customers.
But the National Urban League argues the proposal could dismantle a network of independent businesses, many owned by Black and immigrant entrepreneurs.
In a formal letter to the New York City Council reviewed by The Root, the organization wrote, “We believe that the legislation, while its intentions may in the eyes of some be positive, has and will have a negative effect and cause thousands of jobs to be lost, increasing the racial wealth gap and raising costs for consumers at every turn.”
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Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and constitutional lawyer, called the legislation “unconstitutional,” arguing it could devastate business owners who have invested their savings, taken out bank loans and even mortgaged their homes to build delivery companies.
“Who guarantees that they’re going to have jobs? Who asked them if they want to go work for the major company?” Morial said during an October press conference, challenging the assumption that displaced workers would simply transition to Amazon or another major employer.
Those concerns reflect a September analysis of the legislation’s potential economic effects, drawing on a study by consulting firm AKRF. It estimates that between 3,000 and 10,000 or more New York City jobs could be at risk, depending on how companies respond. Approximately 80% of the last-mile workforce is made up of workers of color, and more than 100 subcontracted delivery businesses may operate across the city, many of them minority-, immigrant-, veteran-, or family-owned.
Mamdani, however, says the changes are necessary to address working conditions, worker injuries and unsafe streets. According to the mayor’s office, a 2025 comptroller’s report found that 78% of areas near last-mile facilities experienced an increase in injury-causing crashes after the facilities opened.
“New Yorkers should not be forced to subsidize corporate profits with less safe streets and more precarious jobs,” Mamdani said in a statement.
For Morial, however, the stakes extend beyond individual business owners. With Black Americans owning just 3% to 4% of businesses nationwide, he argues that cities should help Black entrepreneurs build and grow businesses, not eliminate opportunities in an industry where they have established a foothold.
“This would destroy business owners who have taken out bank loans and mortgaged their houses,” Morial continued. “And will destroy their wealth and perhaps destroy their income.”
Ultimately, the debate is about how packages reach New Yorkers’ doorsteps just as much as it is about who gets to participate in the city’s economy, who gets to build generational wealth and whether corporate accountability can coexist with the survival of Black-owned businesses.
“We just believe very strongly that the City Council should take a second look,” Morial said. “Take a hard look at whether this is really in the best interest of New Yorkers.”
