The City that never sleeps has a new ordinance on the books. It encourages fellow New Yorkers to rat out local businesses that hand out extra napkins, condiments, containers, or utensils without customers asking for them.
That’s not what it says, but there’s no practical way to identify violators aside from inspections, but Mayor Adams and his city councilors are hoping for help from the COVID rat squad to locate potential targets.
COVID revealed the willingness of neighbors to out you, and Liberal NYC has tapped into it with what is being sold as a way to reduce waste, something contrary to the very existence of Democrats.
Effective July 31, 2023, New York City food service establishments* providing take-out and delivery service must comply with these restrictions:
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- Do not provide utensils, condiment packets, napkins, or extra containers to take-out or delivery customers unless requested by the customer.
- Your online ordering and delivery apps must be set to a default of not providing these items. You must provide customers with the option to request these items only if you offer them.
- Delivery and courier services may not provide these items unless such items are requested by the customer.
*NOTE: These restrictions do not apply to self-serve stations inside a food service establishment.
The ordinance went into effect yesterday but will not result in citations or fines until July 2024, after which “Businesses should be prepared for visits from inspectors, at least annually as part of routine inspections or 311 investigations, …”
And now for reality.
Having spent some time in the food service industry, I can tell you that with thin margins, the desire to keep costs down is baked in. Anyone who has used a drive-thru will know that. You ask for extra napkins or condiments because they deliberately give you too few – with rare exceptions.
Now and again, you will encounter the slighted server who, when asked, seizes a fistful of packets and drops them into your paper sack. I suppose that is the waste they are after, but as an environmental impact policy, this ordinance is useless. Business owners need to cut waste; it’s the customers that work against that.
And the ordinance isn’t trying to stop you from asking or businesses from giving.
They will find a way to cite businesses. To justify the resources directed at the alleged problem, they must, which, if we are honest, is a more considerable waste.
Perhaps New Yorkers should audit the New York City Government if they think the planet needs saving. Office supply waste, office space, heating, cooling, transportation, staffing, you get the point. Every department, stuffed with left-wingers and everything your tax dollars pay for, is like a rental car.
Talk about the potential for reducing waste.
HT | GP
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