After Meteoric Rise, Rapid Delivery Startups In Crosshairs Of Landlords, Lawmakers

Jokr riders
Urban Grocery Delivery Startup Jokr Has Expanded Rapidly In The U.s.

Startups promising to deliver groceries in 15 minutes to New York City customers’ doorsteps have grown like a weed into vacant retail spaces, but they are running into fresh problems, from lawmakers to growingly skeptical landlords and investors.

Companies including Gopuff, Jokr, Gorillas, Getir and Fridge No More are the target of incoming legislation from New York City Council Member Christopher Marte, who has said he will propose a measure preventing the companies from advertising their ability to deliver within 15 minutes, the New York Post reported.

Marte said his legislation will focus specifically on delivery times for road safety reasons, per the Post, incentivizing delivery bikers to break traffic laws and disregard pedestrian safety. The bill is expected to be part of a broader legislative package addressing rapid delivery startups that have proliferated throughout NYC over the past two years.

This legislation isn’t the first time rapid delivery startup apps have faced local political scrutiny. In December, then-Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer sent a letter to multiple state and city agencies saying that companies were operating as warehouses in areas zoned for retail.

Gorillas and Jokr are among the rapid delivery apps that took advantage of pandemic-era retail rents, signing dozens of leases during the summer and fallBisnow previously reported. The companies now combine to occupy between 150 and 200 spaces across the city, Solomon Sharaby, a broker with KSR who has represented Jokr, told the Post. But these apps are also facing questions over profitability.

Despite influxes of venture capital funding, few if any rapid delivery apps have been able to turn a profit, The Wall Street Journal reported. Among the challenged companies is 1520, which signed leases in NYC last year, but shuttered its operations in December.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

From Bankruptcy To $400M Buying Spree: Michael Shah's Rapid Comeback

Pace Of NYC Housing Construction Plunges As Developers Play Small Ball

NYC Office Investor Warns It Could Go Under As Defaults Pile Up

Nike Closes 15 Stores Amid Tumultuous Year

The Fast-Food Exec Taking Her Real Estate Talents To The Looksmaxxing Era

Chetrit Group 'Being Dissolved' As Family Turmoil Spirals

TJ Maxx Parent Plans To Accelerate Store Openings In 2027

Ashley's Frasers Sets £20B Real Estate Acquisition Target

Century 21 Retail Redevelopment Advances With New Financing, Leases: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Food And Beverage Increasingly Becoming Anchor In Mixed-Use Projects

Bally's Debt Obligations Raise Doubts Over Casino Operator's Future

Ken Griffin Strikes $86M Palm Beach Real Estate Deal With Blackstone