At the Prospect Park Zoo’s red panda exhibit, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a crackdown on the fees food-delivery apps charge to businesses and consumers.
The press conference’s location was a nod to the food delivery platform HungryPanda, which largely services Asian restaurants. The administration alleged that the app illegally overcharged hundreds of these businesses through junk fees, and announced a $875,000 settlement on Wednesday. More than 380 restaurants will receive relief money, the mayor said, after the app “bamboozled hardworking New Yorkers.”
“For so many restaurants and businesses, it is already hard enough to balance daily costs — labor, rent, equipment, utilities — even harder, frankly, to stay afloat when a delivery platform steals hard-earned revenue,” said Mamdani, who was joined by Deputy Mayor Julie Su and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine.
Mamdani added that “this is the first-ever action to hold a delivery app accountable for violating the rights of New York City restaurant owners.” He said many of the restaurants affected are immigrant-owned and located in neighborhoods like Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Flushing, Queens. The settlement will require the HungryPanda app to provide fee disclosures to users, implement compliance policies, and submit annual compliance certifications, he said.
The city has investigated HungryPanda more than once
Combating junk fees for NYC businesses and consumers has been a top priority for Mamdani in recent months. City law requires third-party food cap fee amounts at 15% for delivery and 5% for other services.
The HungryPanda app has been ordered to pay over $580,000 in restitution to affected restaurants, along with more than $294,000 in civil penalties and fees.
Wednesday’s HungryPanda settlement announcement also follows a January settlement involving Uber Eats, Fantuan, and HungryPanda, in which the companies were ordered to pay over a total of $5 million for pay violations affecting nearly 50,000 workers. DCWP’s investigation at the time found that HungryPanda failed to pay workers the minimum pay rate between December 2023 and January 2024.
HungryPanda did not immediately respond to a comment request about either settlement.
Mamdani’s team secured a similar settlement for fast food and retail workers this year — which the mayor announced while eating a Crunchwrap Supreme at a Taco Bell. He said his administration plans to continue to take on major corporations “exploiting” local workers.
“We are putting abusers and violators of these laws on notice: If you break these laws, we will hold you accountable,” he said. “It is time to have a city where, when people play by the rules, they are not put at a disadvantage, because those who break them are allowed to do so with impunity.”
