Coronavirus. In New York, food delivery men on the front line

They have become the pillars of what remains of New York social life in times of crisis. coronavirus : never had the inhabitants of “the city that never sleeps” depended so much on their 40,000 home food delivery people, often without papers no health coverage.

This is the small consolation of the 8.5 million New Yorkers who, unaccustomed to cooking, can still have their homes delivered or buy take-out, despite the closure of restaurants, cafes and bars, which s ‘is added Tuesday to that of cultural and tourist places.

To support their business, the mayor authorized bars to deliver cocktails, and suspended fines on electric bicycles popular with delivery men, but often not meeting municipal standards.

The fear of being contaminated

Despite these measures, demand is collapsing, as people fear being contaminated. And many restaurants have closed for lack of income to pay their staff and rent, as the city slows down.

Delivery people also fear contagion, but, usually without health coverage or paid vacation, have no choice but to continue working.

They multiply the precautions: some wear gloves, masks, always have a bottle of hydroalcoholic gel with them. Others have attached plastic bags to the handlebars of their bikes, to slip their hands inside.

“No other option”

While the others stay at home, we take the risk of catching the coronavirus. It really worries me. I have a wife and four kids at home, all of them take steps to stay indoors, but what’s the point if I put them at risk by staying outside?, asks Alberto Gonzalez, delivery boy of Hispanic origin, who campaigns for the organization of defense of migrants Make The Road New York.

We need more protection […] It is not known who has priority to be tested, if those without health coverage or papers will have to pay for tests or treatment., he adds.

Every time I make a delivery, I put on hydroalcoholic gel and I change gloves30-year-old Mexican delivery man Luis Ventura told AFP as he got off his bike in the heart of Manhattan.

Dismissal due to coronavirus

A few days ago he lost his job as a cook in a Greek restaurant, due to the drop in attendance due to the coronavirus.

But he continues to work for Postmates, a home delivery company that pays him, excluding tips, nine dollars an hour – below the minimum wage of $ 13.5 an hour for smaller businesses.

Sincerely this month I won’t make it financially, he laments.

You have to be careful with the door handles, the elevator buttons, you don’t know who is sick, also testifies Abdoulayle Diallo, delivery man from Guinea, who works for Seamless, another home delivery company.

I will continue to work, because I have no other option, adds this young man of 19 years.

Continue to work for a living

The calls have multiplied on social networks to increase their tips, as a token of solidarity. But without much effect for the moment, according to a dozen delivery men interviewed by AFP.

Work has decreased too much, by 70%, says Martin Balderas, a 60-year-old Mexican who works as a delivery man for the restaurant Atomic Wings, specializing in fried chicken wings.

I pray to God to spare me contagion, but we are all exposed, confides this undocumented man, paid eight dollars an hour excluding tips.

He cannot stop working either: his salary supports his wife, his sons and his grandchildren who remain in Mexico.

My family must eat, and here the rent does not forgive, he said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio offers zero-interest loans of up to $ 75,000 to businesses with fewer than 100 employees who prove they’ve lost at least 25% of their sales, but for many restaurants that’s not enough .

For Ousmane Savadogo, a 33-year-old delivery man of Ivorian origin, everything will depend on the duration of the crisis: If it lasts two weeks, it will be fine. If it’s more, it will get complicated.