Speaker Menin questions DOT and NYPD on enforcement of vest law

Thank you so much.

So I want to start with the fact that in 2013, the City Council passed a law that required all delivery workers to wear a vest to identify themselves as commercial workers, among other safety requirements.

The Council updated this law last year with Council Member Brewer's bill.

To make it clear that the law applies to all delivery workers, including those that work for third-party apps.

Yet, if you were to ask the average New Yorker, they would tell you they've never heard of this law, and they've almost never seen a delivery worker wearing the required vests.

That is because there seems to be zero enforcement.

So the question is both for the NYPD and DOT, since you're both responsible for enforcement of our micromobility safety laws, why is there no enforcement of this law?

Thank you, Speaker.

You know, we very much share the priority of ensuring that delivery workers are operating safely, both for themselves and for others out there.

And, you know, we agree as well that the landscape, the delivery landscape, has continued evolving in terms of

workers using different kinds of devices beyond just bicycles, and we're supportive of the legislation to expand that.

We're absolutely open to further conversations around the enforcement side and how we can keep improving the delivery worker landscape.

Okay, I just have a question for that, Commissioner.

So when you say you're open to conversations on enforcement, will you then commit now to enforce the council's law on this topic?

We're committed to enforcing any laws on the books, and I'm happy to look closer at, you know, if there's gaps and how we can continue partnering with PD on the enforcement.

And from the PD's side, with regard to the corporate side enforcement, right, against the, you know, employers, that we very much would defer to DOT.

With regard to the street-level enforcement, and I do think that the message to the patrol officers on the street is we are prioritizing that conduct that is most dangerous.

I understand the concern you're raising, Speaker.

But again, I do.

I do think that the critical point is identifying dangerous behavior.

Officers are seeing that.

They're directed to take enforcement action.

Okay, so will the agency also then commit to enforcing this council law?

We will certainly look at it and prepare additional training for the officers.

Again, there's always going to be a question of what we're prioritizing on the street in terms of enforcement.

That's inescapable, but I understand what you're saying, Speaker, and we will 100% take that back to look at additional training and to make sure our officers understand all the tools available to them.

Absolutely.

I mean, the council's now passed several laws on this, and no one knows anything about them.

We passed them for a reason.

So one of the reasons for this hearing is to get the commitment from the agencies to actually enforce the current laws we have in the books that are not being enforced.

We are 100% going to take that back.

Okay, and so I'd like a commitment from both agencies in writing to us.

We really want to, I just want to have like more conversations, okay?

And I'm sure Councilmember Brewer is going to expand upon that in her questioning as well.