Featured Image Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor via Getty
Amazon might have a market cap of $2.86 trillion, but we don't imagine it's too impressed about having to stump up $9 million in unpaid fines to the city of New York. With it, it looks like Zohran Mamdani's bubbling feud with Amazon boss Jess Bezos is only going to heat up.
As part of his progressive agenda, Zohran Mamdani has vowed to tax the rich, notably via his pied-à-terre tax that targeted the likes of President Donald Trump. There was a long list of billionaires who tried to stop Mamdani from becoming mayor, although we now imagine Jeff Bezos might want to add his name to the list. We previously covered how Mamdani's taxes could hit Bezos hard, while he also shied away from this year's controversial Met Gala, which was sponsored by Bezos and his wife.
Now, the Mayor's Office has announced that a joint effort from Mamdani, New York City Department of Finance (DOF) Commissioner Richard Lee, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa F. Garcia has led to the recovery of more than $9 million in idle violations. The online marketplace got a slap on the wrist due to delivery vehicles accruing fines for idling violations.
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Mamdani cheered the fines, explaining: "Amazon is worth $2 trillion. Yet, it did not deign to pay the millions of dollars it racked up in unpaid fines as its trucks illegally polluted our air and forced New Yorkers to breathe in their exhaust. We are going to collect every dollar they owe the people of this city."
He added that these laws exist to provide "cleaner air, healthier communities, and a city where corporations are held to the same standard as everyone else."
Mamdani reiterated: "Today we are making clear that no company – no matter how large or powerful – is above the law.”
As for the idling fines, Amazon told USA Today that it's looking at a new process. Spokesperson Leigh Anne Gullett said: "We've worked with city officials to resolve these fines, many of which didn't reach the delivery service partners whose vehicles were cited because of gaps in how violations were tracked.
“We've since established a new process to help ensure potential future violations reach the right parties."
I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ. https://t.co/JEnRnM2xII
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) May 20, 2026
The fines are the latest chess move from Mamdani, coming shortly after he was publicly called out by Bezos during a CNBC interview. Here, Bezos suggested the bottom half of earners should pay 0% in income tax as he told Andrew Ross Sorkin: "Why is a nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year paying more than $1,000 a month in taxes?"
He also seemed to somewhat support the pied-à-terre tax but complained: "When you don’t know how to solve a problem, create a villain, blame them, but it won’t solve the problem. The only thing that will solve the problem is skill."
Bezos concluded: "I pay billions of dollars in taxes. ...If people want me to pay more billions, then let’s have that debate. But don’t pretend... that that’s going to solve the problem. You could double the taxes I pay and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens, I promise you."
This landed on Mamdani's radar, who took to X to offer his own response to the billionaire as he mused: "I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ."
Your move, Jeff.
