City Council passes bill to encourage overnight deliveries in NYC

NEW YORK - A new bill passed by the New York City Council on Wednesday requires the city to study its facilities below 60th Street in Manhattan, and in two other heavily congested outer borough locations to see if and where off-peak deliveries make sense. 

With the average speed of traffic continuing to dwindle in Manhattan, the city has attempted to encourage businesses to schedule their deliveries during off-peak hours. But that may also force business owners to pay staff to stay late and receive said deliveries, and make residents endure the sounds of idling, stop-starting vehicles throughout the night. 

“We have thousands and thousands of deliveries every day in New York City, from paper and pencils to things like heating oil,” said City Councilman Costa Constantinides, who sponsored the bill. 

Constantinides believes that moving a majority of city deliveries between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. will help alleviate traffic in Manhattan, but also admitted to hoping that the symbolism of moving city deliveries to off-hours might further incentivize Manhattan businesses to do the same. 

Altering delivery schedules will affect not only business owners, but also those who drive or hail ride-sharing vehicles, along with pedestrians and cyclists.