{"id":167761,"date":"2026-03-18T22:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/167761\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:21:09","slug":"nyc-business-owners-warn-against-proposed-30-minimum-wage-hike-backed-by-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/167761\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC business owners warn against proposed $30 minimum wage hike backed by mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Business owners warned of dire consequences if New York City officials pass a $30 minimum wage hike in comments to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The city council in New York City<\/a> may boost the minimum wage up to $30 and Mayor Zohran Mamdani signaled on the campaign trail that he could make it a reality.<\/p>\n

“As much as I would like to pay $30, we don\u2019t have money,” Moe Chan, who has a coffee and tea company in Queens, told the Journal.<\/p>\n

NYC $30 MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL PUSHED BY MAMDANI WOULD ‘OBLITERATE’ CERTAIN INDUSTRIES: EXPERT WARNS<\/a><\/p>\n

\"New <\/p>\n

Business owners warn of dire consequences if New York City officials pass a $30 minimum wage hike, business owners told the Wall Street Journal. (Gary Hershorn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“We feel like we\u2019re at a tipping point with consumers,” said Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association.<\/p>\n

The mandate was a campaign pledge from\u00a0Mamdani<\/a>, who promoted a “$30 by \u201830” minimum wage message.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When working people have more money in their pocket, the overall economy thrives,”\u00a0Mamdani said<\/a> last year. “Right now, if you are earning a minimum wage in the city, you simply cannot afford to continue calling it your home. We have to change that.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s proposal would reportedly follow Los Angeles’ model with an incremental increase to $30 in 2030, a local New York outlet reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Business owners on the West Coast shared similar sentiments, but some are actually having to deal with the mandate after local officials passed the law.<\/p>\n

‘UTTERLY UNAFFORDABLE’: STUDY REVEALS HOW DEEP BLUE CITY’S MINIMUM WAGE LAW IS RAVAGING KEY INDUSTRY<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NYC <\/p>\n

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (Seth Wenig\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n

A phased-in minimum wage hike in\u00a0Los Angeles<\/a> that will mandate up to $30 per hour for airport and hotel workers was signed into law last year by Mayor Karen Bass. It mandates that their hourly wage must be raised by $2.50 each year until they reach $30 in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Hotel Association of Los Angeles (HALA) recently commissioned a study<\/a> that found hotels have eliminated or expect to eliminate 6% of positions, roughly 650 jobs, since the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance took effect in September.<\/p>\n

As business owners in New York<\/a> brace for a similar fate as those in Los Angeles, Sean Hayden, who owns five restaurants that employ over 200 people, said the dream of opening a restaurant in the city wouldn\u2019t be possible for aspiring restaurant owners, and he would have to cut staff under the wage hike.<\/p>\n

EATING OUT GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE AS AMERICANS HIT ‘MENU PRICE FATIGUE’ NATIONWIDE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b”It\u2019s just going to get to the stage where a chef or a waitress or a bartender who has a dream of opening a restaurant \u2014 it\u2019s just not possible,” Hayden told the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

\"Eating <\/p>\n

Sean Hayden, who owns five restaurants that employ over 200 people in NYC, said the dream of opening a restaurant in the city wouldn\u2019t be possible for aspiring restaurant owners. (iStock)<\/p>\n

Hayden said the minimum wage should be $20 to $25 an hour. If the mandate goes anything beyond that, he would have to lay off a “dozen” servers\u00a0while installing QR codes for diners to order on their phones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“You\u2019re taking the whole dining, hospitality aspect of it out,” he told the Journal.<\/p>\n

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital<\/a>‘s request for comment.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.<\/p>\n

Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Story tips can be sent to joshua.nelson@fox.com and Joshua can be followed on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n