NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (Our New York News) — New York City’s delivery-app tipping rules have required companies such as DoorDash and Uber Eats to make gratuity options easier to find. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the changes have generated an estimated $104 million in additional tips for delivery workers since January.
But the announcement also sparked criticism because the New York City Council approved the measure in 2025, before Mamdani became mayor. His administration began enforcing the rules after they took effect Jan. 26.
The dispute is partly about policy and partly about credit: What did the law change, who approved it, and what role did the mayor’s administration play?
What do the rules require?
The rules require delivery apps to show a tipping option before a customer completes an order. Apps must offer a suggested gratuity of at least 10%, allow customers to enter a custom amount and provide a no-tip option.
The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection said Uber Eats and DoorDash had previously made tipping buttons difficult to find and used default tip amounts below 10%. The department attributed a 79% decline in delivery-worker tips to those practices.
Under the new requirements, the city says average tips increased from $1.18 per delivery during the four weeks before implementation to $2.29 during the four weeks afterward. Those figures are city estimates and were not accompanied in the supplied records by the underlying methodology.
What did Mamdani announce?
At a July news conference, Mamdani said the city had “put $104 million back in delivery workers’ pockets.” He described the figure as the result of enforcing rules that prevent delivery apps from concealing tipping options.
The mayor also posted that “this is only the beginning,” framing the enforcement as part of a broader effort to hold large delivery companies accountable.
City officials said about 70,000 delivery workers were on track to receive an average additional $2,287 in annual tips. The city’s estimates also said app practices before the rule changes had cost workers about $550 million in tips.
The $104 million, $550 million, 79% and $2,287 figures are estimates from Mamdani, city officials or DCWP. The available records do not establish an independent audit of those numbers.
Did Mamdani create the law?
No. The City Council passed the delivery-app tipping measure in 2025, before Mamdani took office. Former Mayor Eric Adams did not sign or veto it, and the legislation became law after the required period, according to accounts of the measure.
Mamdani’s administration did, however, oversee implementation and enforcement after the rules took effect Jan. 26. That distinction is at the center of the criticism aimed at his announcement.
Critics, including Sam E. Antar, said the mayor was presenting an earlier council action as his own accomplishment. Mamdani has focused on his administration’s enforcement, saying city officials were putting money into the hands of working New Yorkers by enforcing laws already on the books.
Why are delivery companies challenging the rules?
DoorDash and Uber sued New York City before the rules took effect. The companies argued that the requirements improperly pressure customers to tip more.
The available information does not identify the courts, case numbers or current status of those lawsuits. It also does not establish whether the rules have increased customers’ overall delivery costs. Claims about higher consumer costs remain part of the criticism of the policy, rather than a measured outcome documented in the supplied records.
For delivery workers, the city’s position is that clearer tipping choices have restored income that was lost when the options were harder to find. For critics, the political question is whether Mamdani’s administration should receive credit for a law passed before his tenure. Both issues are tied to the same change: New York City’s effort to make tipping more visible on food-delivery apps.
