Mamdani admin attempts to sue food delivery firm out of existence in escalation of war on apps

The Big Apple sued the food-delivery company Motoclick on Thursday in an escalation of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s crackdown on apps.

Motoclick stole directly from its own workers by charging them $10 fees for canceled orders and deducting refunded orders from their pay, the lawsuit filed by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection alleged.

The app owes workers millions of dollars in stolen pay and damages, according to the filing – which seeks to sue Motoclick out of existence.

Mamdani alleges the firms have stole millions from delivery drivers. Gregory P. Mango

“This is an indicator of the new era that we are here in New York City, and that is a new era where it’s not just holding Motoclick to account, but it’s holding any app company to account if they are operating outside of the rules and the laws of New York,” Mamdani said during a news conference announcing the lawsuit.

The filing comes just days after Mamdani’s administration accused DoorDash and Uber Eats of preventing delivery workers from earning more than $550 million in tips.

The one-two punch against the delivery apps is part of Mamdani’s promised crackdown on “predatory” apps that he contends are stealing money from hard-working delivery workers.

The new Hizzoner has pledged his Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will be more aggressive on behalf of New Yorkers, whether workers or customers.

“I want to be very clear: City Hall does not desire to have an adversarial relationship with any business operating in our city,” Mamdani said. “We cannot tell the story of the city without also telling the story of business.

“To those, however, who think they can make a profit while stealing from their workers, while breaking the law, make no mistake. We will have those workers’ backs each and every time.”

The lawsuit alleges Motoclick charged drivers for canceled orders. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sam Levine, the department’s new commissioner, said “billion-dollar corporations” should be on notice.

“Uber and Doordash do not make their food, they don’t serve the food, they don’t ride the bikes, they don’t repair the bikes, they don’t deliver the food,” he said. “It’s time that we stand up for the people who actually make deliveries a core part of the city — that actually make our economy work, and that’s the working people of New York.”

Motoclick didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.