New York City’s e-commerce boom has delivered speed and convenience. However, a new report says it’s also bringing more traffic crashes, pollution, and worker injuries, especially in black and brown neighborhoods.
In Fast Shipping. Slow Justice, Comptroller Brad Lander says the City’s lack of rules for last-mile delivery facilities is putting both workers and communities at risk. Daily package deliveries have climbed from 1.8 million before the pandemic to 2.5 million in 2024. Roughly one in three New Yorkers now receives a package every day.
“We’ve become so accustomed to getting our toilet paper, socks, or butter cookies right away that we’ve stopped thinking about the consequences, but we all pay the price of more traffic crashes, worsening air quality, and worker injuries,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “This report is a wake-up call: adopt reasonable regulations for delivery services or worsen street safety, environmental impacts, and workers’ rights.”
Crashes rising near delivery hubs
After the last-mile warehouses opened, 78% of nearby areas saw more injury crashes. Within a half-mile radius, injuries rose an average of 16%. Truck-related crashes went up 146%, and truck-injury crashes jumped 137%.
In Maspeth, Queens, crashes near two major FedEx and Amazon warehouses spiked by more than 50%.
The report also found that 68% of last-mile warehouses are located in officially designated Environmental Justice areas, including Red Hook, East New York, Maspeth, and Hunts Point, where 65.8% of residents are black or latino. Pollution is already higher in these neighborhoods, and truck traffic is making it worse.
Worker injuries far above national average
Between 2022 and 2024, 38 of 50 last-mile facilities reported over 2,000 worker injuries to OSHA, averaging 678 per year. Injury rates were more than triple the national average. Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner model recorded even higher injury rates, raising concerns about accountability and safety.
To address the crisis, the report calls for several actions, including passing the Delivery Protection Act, regulating warehouse emissions, expanding clean truck programs, and ending as-of-right development of large facilities.
“Amazon doesn’t care about the well-being of New Yorkers,” said Tom Gesualdi, President of Teamsters Joint Council 16. “This company hides behind its DSP subcontracting model to dodge responsibility for worker safety. But they can’t hide anymore.”
