Representatives of the City of Somerville signed on to a bill submitted to the state legislature in support of a cap on fees charged by third party delivery services.

By Alberto Gilman

An open letter to the Massachusetts state legislature and governor, signed by 41 elected officials, was submitted on Tuesday, May 26, calling for a cap on third party delivery fees.

Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen put forward this resolution, which had unanimous support, two weeks earlier at the previous City Council meeting. Bill HD.5054 is currently being pushed in the state house.

“This is an issue that I have heard about from local restaurants in Somerville and Union Square Main Streets,” Ewen-Campen said in a phone interview. “The basic issue is that the pandemic has not only just overall had a catastrophic effect on the revenue that small business, including local restaurants are receiving, but it’s also shut down in person dining,”

Third party delivery apps create difficulties for local restaurants trying to stay afloat during the pandemic, and in reaction this issue has been brought forward to the state level.

Somerville restaurants are now reliant on delivery take out options that are made possible through third party apps. The ongoing issue is that certain companies are currently considering taking over several of these services.

“You have the very small number of enormous corporations that have kind of monopolized what we call third party delivery apps,” Ewen-Campen said.

In the city of Somerville, there is no possibility of bringing forth any discussion concerning this issue with these larger corporations. That is why state support is needed to push it further.

Restaurants that currently deal with the situation could face longer periods of recovery or deal with the possibility of closure.

“A lot of the local restaurants in Somerville, like in every city, are part of the lifeblood of the neighborhood,” Ewen-Campen said. “The last thing we want is to come out of this with a lot of vacant storefronts.”

Councilor At-Large Kristen Strezo, who signed on to the resolution, offered her thoughts on the matter, as she started to learn more about this issue. “I had been hearing that these third party delivery services had been squeezing restaurants in this way with upcharges. I just see that as so unethical in a time when restaurants are trying to do everything they can,” Strezo said in a phone interview. “Somerville residents really love, we love our city.”

Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne, who also signed on to the resolution, expressed her thoughts on the matter. “During this pandemic time right now, if they stay open, in many ways it is just to be able to survive at the bare minimum, with minimal employees,” Ballantyne said in a phone interview. “I’m concerned about their opening too and keeping to the social distance.”

As the state begins its first initial reopening stages, the next plan of action is recovery and the importance of conducting business fairly with third party apps.

“We are all in this together,” Ewen-Campen said.