Vehicles delivering Amazon packages received more than 14,000 traffic citations in New York City over a five-year period ending in June 2025, an advocacy group said in a report.

The violations, recorded between July 2020 and June 2025, included blocking emergency vehicles, obstructing fire hydrants and speeding in school zones, according to the Alliance for a Greater New York, which based its findings on data collected by the city.

The citations were spread across the city’s five boroughs and involved 637 vehicle license plates, the report said. Vehicles affiliated with Amazon were also the subject of roughly 13,000 complaints of excessive idling over the same period, it said, citing a city programme that lets residents report commercial vehicles left running too long.

The report arrives as the administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani steps up enforcement against delivery companies, including a $131.5 million settlement the city reached with DoorDash last week over its pay practices.

Many of the drivers cited work not for Amazon directly but as independent contractors hired through an Amazon Delivery Service Partner, a third-party business, the report said. The workers often wear Amazon-branded clothing and must pass an Amazon-conducted background check.

“But when workers complain about dangerous conditions, Amazon points them to their DSP,” the report reads. “And if an Amazon van is responsible for a traffic crash, the victim may sue Amazon for damages, but Amazon could argue that only the DSP is to blame.”

An Amazon spokesperson said the company works with its delivery partners “to promote safe delivery practices, from hands-on driver training to in-vehicle safety technology,” and has trained roughly 110,000 drivers through its Last Mile Training Academy. The partners are responsible for ensuring their drivers obey traffic laws and must bear the costs of violations their drivers incur, the spokesperson said.

Amazon is also investing in alternatives to traditional delivery vehicles, including cargo ebikes and on-foot delivery, the spokesperson said.

Samuel A.A. Levine, commissioner of the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, said the findings showed a threat that Amazon’s delivery model poses to New York’s streets.

“The data is clear: an economy that rewards exploitation and shields powerful corporations from responsibility causes real harm to our communities,” Levine said in a statement.

Levine urged passage of the Delivery Protection Act, a proposal before the New York City Council that would require companies such as Amazon to directly employ the workers who deliver their packages. Amazon opposes the measure, according to testimony the company submitted in April.