Manhattan · Staten Island DSNY · Local Law 199 of 2019 · Critical
Two weeks left to pick a carter in Midtown South and Staten Island
The Phase 5 sign-up window for the Midtown South and Staten Island Commercial Waste Zones closes Monday, August 31. Full implementation begins September 1. After that date, every commercial establishment in both zones must be served by one of the three carters DSNY authorized for that zone.
Midtown South covers ZIP codes 10001, 10010, 10011, 10016 through 10022, and 10036: the Garment District, Herald Square, Koreatown, NoMad, Flatiron, Union Square, Bryant Park, Grand Central, and parts of Chelsea. The Staten Island zone covers the entire borough, ZIP codes 10301 through 10314.
The sign-up period is the only time a business can compare all three authorized carters and negotiate terms on its own schedule. A business that has not signed by August 31 is assigned a carter by DSNY at the zone's maximum allowable rate. Your current hauler does not carry over unless it is one of the three awardees for your zone.
Staten Island is the only borough that becomes a single zone in one step. Every storefront, office, and light industrial user on the island changes systems on the same day, which means carters will be scheduling service starts for thousands of accounts in the same week.
Impact
Modeled for a Midtown South quick-service restaurant generating 6 to 8 cubic yards of mixed waste per week: the spread between a negotiated rate and an assigned maximum rate can run several hundred dollars a month over a multi-year term. Request written quotes from all three carters this week so you have time to compare organics pricing, pickup windows, and container fees before the 31st.
Citywide DOB · Local Law 97 of 2019 · Critical
Bought an LL97 extension in June? Your report is due August 29
Buildings that requested a 2026 Local Law 97 filing extension through the BEAM portal by June 30 must submit the full compliance report by Saturday, August 29. The extension moved the paperwork deadline. It did not move or reduce the 2025 emissions limit.
The August 29 date applies only to buildings that filed the extension request. It is not a second general deadline. Buildings that neither filed nor requested an extension by June 30 are already late and accruing penalties.
A complete filing runs through three systems: the report itself in BEAM, filing fees and any adjustment applications in DOB NOW: Safety, and the underlying energy data in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Article 320 reports require certification by a Registered Design Professional, and engineers are booked solid in the final two weeks.
For Article 320 buildings, failure to file carries a penalty of $0.50 per square foot per month, separate from the $268 per metric ton charge for emissions above the limit. Article 321 buildings face $10,000 for a late report plus a separate $10,000 for failing to demonstrate compliance through a pathway.
Impact
For a 40,000 square foot mixed-use building with ground-floor retail, a missed filing runs $20,000 per month before any emissions overage is counted. Commercial tenants should confirm with building management that the filing is in hand, since many leases pass LL97 costs through as additional rent.
Citywide SBS · OPEN for Small Business · Standard
SBS releases $8.4 million to corridor groups in all five boroughs
On August 17 the Mamdani administration announced more than $8.4 million in grants to community-based organizations that serve commercial corridors, which the city called one of the largest small business grant releases in SBS history.
The money goes to the organizations, not directly to individual businesses. The borough split: Brooklyn $2.77 million across 32 grants, the Bronx $1.55 million across 17, Manhattan $1.53 million across 14, Queens $1.51 million across 19, Staten Island $550,000 across 7, and $500,000 in citywide awards. Together the recipients serve more than 20,000 businesses.
Eligible uses include supplemental street cleaning, lighting, public art, wayfinding, district marketing, and merchant networking. The release ties the grants to the July OPEN for Small Business package and to Executive Order 11, which directed seven agencies to inventory their fines and fees.
Impact
If your corridor has a merchants association, local development corporation, or BID, ask what it was awarded and what the money will fund. Supplemental sanitation funded by a corridor group can directly reduce your exposure to DSNY dirty sidewalk and receptacle summonses.
Citywide DCWP · Int. 0518-2026 · High
Delivery Protection Act backers say they have a supermajority
Organizers of the Delivery Protection Act said this week the bill has reached 34 Council sponsors, more than two-thirds of the body, and that they expect a vote "sometime in the next few weeks." The bill, Int. 0518-2026 from Council Member Tiffany Caban, remains laid over in the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection.
The bill would require operators of last-mile delivery facilities to obtain a DCWP license and to directly employ core delivery and warehouse workers rather than subcontracting them through delivery service partners. The April 9 hearing record describes a proposed $500 license fee and a contemplated one-year grace period for small businesses. DCWP testified that it would need 270 to 360 days to implement.
Mayor Mamdani endorsed the bill earlier this month. Opponents at the April hearing included delivery service partner owners, who said the direct-employment requirement could eliminate their companies, and chambers of commerce, which called it an added regulatory layer.
Impact
Retailers and restaurants that rely on Amazon or similar last-mile networks are not the licensed party, but delivery costs and service levels could shift if the bill passes. Small logistics operators that run a facility in the city should read the facility definition closely now, since the license and direct-hire rules attach to the facility operator.
Editorial note
The Weekly Rundown is informational reporting, not legal advice. Fine ranges and deadlines are drawn from official NYC and NYS agency publications and established reporting as of the week covered. Laws change; verify the specific citation linked on each story before making a compliance decision. Quantitative impact estimates are modeled against a typical NYC small business and will vary by size, sector, and address.