New York Councilmembers Seek Action Against Cashless ‘Fast-Delivery’ Stores

After the city instituted a ban on cashless businesses, calling the model discriminatory against poor New Yorkers who rely on cash transactions, a study found that more than 80 percent of new fast-delivery stores don’t accept cash.

2 minute read

July 13, 2022, 6:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Storefront window for Gorillas fast-delivery store in New York City "Store to door in 10 min!"

Councilmembers accuse fast-delivery stores like Gorillas and Amazon of skirting city laws against cashless transactions and obscured storefront windows. | rblfmr / Gorillas store, New York City

A new style of fast-delivery grocery stores is causing concern among New York City lawmakers, who in 2020 banned cashless businesses, saying they “discriminated against low-income consumers, who are less likely to have a credit card or bank account.” Yet a survey from Councilmember Gale Brewer’s office shows that 83 percent of fast-delivery operations do not accept cash payment, reports Arun Venugopal in Gothamist.

Although the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says they “actively enforce” the policy, “Brewer said the city is failing to regulate this growing industry, one that is backed by venture capital and has been hyped in national media as the future of post-pandemic commerce. She complains the businesses, sometimes referred to as “dark stores,” flout other city laws, such as pricing-display rules, governing the commercial sector.”

According to Venugopal, “The city's ban against cashless businesses excludes purchases made online, by phone or by mail. But Brewer’s office notes that some locations do business both ways – taking remote orders and conducting in-person transactions – and need to follow the law barring cashless businesses as well as other city ordinances.”

Other councilmembers expressed concerns about data privacy and the threat these businesses pose to small, mom-and-pop stores in the city. “Councilmember Christopher Marte, whose father operated a bodega, is raising other concerns. He says the pandemic has caused numerous storefront vacancies in Chinatown and the Lower East Side, and worries that the small shops cannot stand up to the new fulfillment stores.”

Saturday, July 9, 2022 in Gothamist

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Bird's eye view of manufactured home park.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing

Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

March 25, 2025 - Shelterforce

U-Haul truck on road with blurred grassy roadside in background.

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?

Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

March 27, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Rusty abandoned oil well and equipment with prickly pear cactus next to it in West Texas.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage

Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

March 31, 2025 - Pennsylvania State University

Downtown Los Angeles skyline viewed from a distance with freeway and trees in foreground.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods

A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.

April 3 - USC Dornsife

Aerial view of Claifornia aqueduct with green orchard on one side.

California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy

California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.

April 3 - Turlock Journal

Close-up of older woman's hands resting on white modern heating radiator mounted on wall indoors.

HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program

The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.

April 3 - The New York Times