---
title: "NYC Threatens to Seize Any FedEx Delivery Bots on City Streets"
description: "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has told FedEx to get its delivery bots off his city's streets or NYC will \"send them packing\" itself."
date: "2019-11-26"
modified: "2019-11-26"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nyc-threatens-seize-fedex-delivery-bots"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "delivery robots"
  - "fedex"
  - "new york city"
  - "the digest"
---

# NYC Threatens to Seize Any FedEx Delivery Bots on City Streets

![New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has told FedEx to get its delivery bots off his city's streets or NYC will "send them packing" itself.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/nyc-snatch-fedex-delivery-bots-public-streets.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: FedEx/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Outta Here

In February, FedEx debuted its SameDay Bots, which are parcel [delivery robots](<https://youtu.be/N0rt_HB7vd4>) that use a combination of artificial intelligence and motion sensors to navigate city streets and sidewalks.

Last week, [social media users](<https://twitter.com/whatisny/status/1197653374746927105>) began reporting sightings of the bots in New York City. But based on a [tweet](<https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1198377885809152000>) from Mayor Bill de Blasio, FedEx never bothered to get permission to test the robots in the Big Apple — and it could be the bots' undoing.

https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1198377885809152000

## In Writing

NYC isn't relying solely on social media to get its message across, either.

On Monday, the *New York Post* [reported obtaining](<https://nypost.com/2019/11/25/nyc-tells-fedex-to-get-their-delivery-robots-off-our-streets/>) a letter lawyers from the city's Department of Transportation sent to FedEx. In it, they threaten to snatch the robots right off the street if FedEx doesn't immediately remove them.

## Permission Denied

A FedEx spokesperson told the *NY Post* that the robots were only in New York for a "special event" and that future testing plans in the city are to be determined. William Baskin- Gerwitz, de Blasio's deputy press secretary, meanwhile, doesn't seem to see much of a future at all for the SameDay Bots in New York.

"Today’s letter will hopefully be the end of this experiment," he told the *NY Post*, "but we’re prepared to take further steps if FedEx isn’t willing to get them off our streets."

**READ MORE:** [NYC tells FedEx to get their delivery robots 'off our streets'](<https://nypost.com/2019/11/25/nyc-tells-fedex-to-get-their-delivery-robots-off-our-streets/>) \[*New York Post*\]

**More on delivery robots:** *[Lawmakers Don’t Know How to Regulate Amazon’s Delivery Robots](<https://futurism.com/regulate-amazon-delivery-robots>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)