During the first week of congestion charges in Manhattan, the sky did not fall. But you wouldn’t know that from talking to restaurateurs in the affected areas who are experiencing high levels of anxiety.
The charges, which go into effect Sunday, will be $9 for a car or truck, with a maximum toll of $21.60 for trucks entering Manhattan below 60th Street between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. Nearly every borough’s luxury dining scene is located in the area, along with thousands of smaller restaurants serving Midtown, Soho, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Chelsea and more.
The new tolls, approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul, are intended to ease traffic and pollution and raise money for the city’s troubled transit system. While many restaurant owners believe these are worthy goals, they are more concerned this week about how these charges will affect their staff, delivery, customers and costs.
“That’s what everyone is talking about,” said Todd McMullen, manager of the Steak Frites, a bistro in Hell’s Kitchen near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel. He said persistent noise and pollution on Ninth Avenue is a long-standing problem, so he hopes the toll will reduce traffic.
But he added that as trucking companies hauling essentials like produce, meat, alcohol and laundry will pass on new costs to restaurants, “there’s no way this won’t cost us money in the near future.” “
Murray Hill Kjun shop owner Jae Jung said on Friday her produce, meat and fish supplier had announced new surcharges on every delivery. She said because her restaurant is small and has limited storage space, she gets three to four deliveries a week and tries to consolidate those orders into one or two.
However, she said it was “inevitable” that she would have to pass on some of the new costs to customers through higher prices.
The timing of implementation of the new traffic charges also worries many car owners. “It’s really terrible,” said Salil Mehta, who runs three Southeast Asian restaurants in the area.
January is the slowest month for restaurants in New York. This is also the time of year when suppliers increase their prices. The minimum wage increased again on New Year’s Day, from $16 to $16.50 an hour. Prices for ingredients such as chicken, eggs and other staples are also at record highs.
But Mehta said raising prices was not an option. When he opened Laut near Union Square in 2010, the cheapest roti canai — a thin flatbread dipped in spicy broth — cost $5. Today’s price is $11, and he said customers are already balking. “How high can I go?” he asked.
He said many of his guests drive in from the suburbs and pay about $20 in tolls and $50 in parking fees even before the congestion charge. Mr. Mehta said they are both cost-conscious and safety-conscious, forcing them to choose between spending more money on a night out or braving public transportation that would keep them out of Manhattan altogether.
“It would be different if the metro was as clean as the one in New Delhi,” where he grew up, he said.
Some restaurant owners have seized on the opportunity, offering rebates and discounts to appease and attract customers. Le Jardin Bistro, Mr. Mehta’s restaurant and the Sushi by Bou omakase chain on the Lower East Side are offering a $9 discount per check to customers who have paid their drive-through fee. (Guests do not need to provide proof of payment.)
Other restaurant owners care more about their employees.
Jeffrey Bank runs the Carmine’s and Virgil’s mini-empires, which include two of the largest restaurants in Times Square. He said it was unfair to suddenly charge restaurant workers — many of whom make close to minimum wage — $9 a day ($45 per workweek, or about $2,000 a year after taxes).
Last week, some employees had to drive to Manhattan just north of the congested area, park there and then take the subway to Times Square, adding to their commute time and hassle, he said. Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of Dirt Candy restaurant on the Lower East Side, said cost-of-living challenges, such as paying extra for an Uber ride to and from work ($1.50 each way in and out of the area), could exacerbate labor shortages that have plagued restaurants since the start of the pandemic. question. Many experienced waiters and chefs who left the city never came back. Even her recent ad for a $29-an-hour dishwashing job attracted only a handful of applicants, she said.
Still, she supports the goal of congestion pricing. “It comes at a cost, but at least it has benefits,” she said.
Jake Dell, owner of Katz’s Deli, estimates that one-fifth of his employees drive to work, often because they live in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, which are underserved by public transportation. parts of the area. He said the additional cost will be another challenge for them and him.
“This is not a problem for Bank of America” and other white-collar companies, he said. “Small businesses in this city are really getting squeezed.” Dyer said rising costs have forced him to raise the price of his signature pastrami sandwich (currently $28.95) every year since 2022 and hopes not to do so again in 2025 .
Late last month, hundreds of New York food businesses, including restaurant groups like chef Thomas Colicchio’s Crafted Hospitality and major vendors like Fulton Fish Market and Hunts Point Market, signed a letter to Governor Hochul urging a complete exemption from vendor congestion. The fee, which is based in the city, points out that food cannot be transported via public transportation.
“We should not face the same restrictions as out-of-state operators when providing service to local communities,” it reads.
Like most employers in the city, they already donate 0.6 percent of their revenue to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority through a tax that went into effect in 2009.
“Governor Hochul has been a champion of New York’s food and restaurant industry, advancing a massive $1.7 billion plan to Providing easy access to the Hunts Point Marina market and signing of a number of new laws to support restaurants and other small businesses.
“By reducing traffic in and around Manhattan’s central business district, this program will make deliveries easier and faster.”
Baldor is a Bronx-based distributor that supplies everything from fresh amaranth to dried macaroni to about 3,000 restaurants in Manhattan. Seth Gottlieb, the company’s director of logistics, said he sends 80 trucks into the area every day, delivering up to 1 million pounds of food. At $14 per two-axle truck, he estimated the new fees would cost the company $250,000 to $500,000 a year. (Trucks charge every time they enter the area, while cars charge once a day.)
Mr Gottlieb said 20 per cent of Baldo’s deliveries had been made overnight and he expected that number to rise; the congestion charge was heavily discounted between 9pm and 5am. ) Top-quality ingredients still insist on receiving the goods themselves. Very few independent restaurants let staff stay overnight.
Robert DeMasco is director of restaurant sales for Citarella Purveying, which delivers seafood multiple times a day to restaurants such as Le Bernardin and Gramercy Tavern. He said he’s considering new options, such as parking company trucks in congested areas and letting only one truck in and out, allocating cargo to trucks for the last-mile trip to the restaurant. Logistically, he said, this would require more staff and slow down deliveries.
“We want to be in the seafood industry,” he said, “not the trucking industry.”
follow NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Tik Tok and interest. Get regular updates from The New York Times Cooking, including recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping tips.
