The Mexican Jorge Toribio has been distributing meals on his bicycle for 10 years. His day is spent pedaling no matter if it’s cold or if it’s raining or snowing, as was the case with the recent winter storm. During bad weather orders increase and your chance to earn a little more, but you also take more risks.
“Sometimes they spill oil from the green paints and right now when it’s snowing the paint gets more slippery.”
Food delivery men are already part of the New York landscape and when the authorities ask residents to stay home due to bad weather, they are the ones who go out and drive the city’s economy. On their bicycles there is no shortage of gloves on the handlebars, to keep their hands warm and to be able to maneuver.
Heavy loads are another drawback. Tomás Acosta, a delivery man with Dominican roots, says that he has transported more than 200 kilos on his bicycle and that this makes it more difficult for him to stop. He calls for the regulation of the maximum weight a delivery person can carry especially during extreme weather.
“Very difficult and more than I live carrying heavy things and sometimes it is very difficult because the stairs are very slippery and I have to carry the deliveries to a fifth floor.
According to the Labor Justice Project, about 65,000 people work delivering meals in New York, and of these, 70 percent are Hispanic. Ángela González, Voice of America, New York.
