NEW YORK – January 5, 2026 – Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday signed two executive orders aimed at curbing hidden “junk fees” and deceptive subscription practices that city officials say are worsening an affordability crisis and draining money from New Yorkers.
Mamdani was joined by New York Attorney General Letitia James, City Council Member Julie Menin and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine at the signing, which city officials described as a coordinated effort to strengthen enforcement against misleading pricing and recurring charges consumers did not knowingly agree to.
The executive orders direct the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, or DCWP, to begin outreach to businesses in the coming weeks to ensure compliance with city law and to signal what officials said would be immediate consequences for violations.
“New Yorkers deserve to know exactly what they are paying, how much it will cost, and whether they are signing up for an ongoing charge — before a single dollar leaves their account,” Mamdani said. “Instead, too many people are hit with hidden fees and blindsided by subscription traps they never knowingly agreed to and cannot easily escape.”
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The first order, Executive Order No. 9, targets so-called junk fees — charges that officials say do not meaningfully contribute to a service and are often hidden until after a consumer has already made a purchase decision. According to the administration, such fees have spread across nearly every sector of the economy, including gym memberships, concert tickets, airline bookings and health care services.
The order establishes a citywide Junk Fee Task Force chaired by Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and DCWP Commissioner Levine. It also directs DCWP to take any actions it deems appropriate to crack down on deceptive or hidden fees, monitor compliance with city law, investigate potential violations and pursue enforcement actions under existing and future rules.
City officials said the effort is intended not only to protect consumers, but also to level the playing field for businesses that disclose prices upfront.
The second order, Executive Order No. 10, focuses on subscription “tricks and traps” that officials say quietly drain money from consumers through recurring charges that are difficult to cancel. The order empowers the city to use the full scope of its authority to crack down on illegal subscription practices, directs DCWP to monitor and enforce violations and urges the agency to make recommendations to the City Council for additional legislative action.
It also calls for coordination among city agencies, including the Law Department, and with the New York State Attorney General’s Office to maximize enforcement.
According to city officials, businesses use a range of deceptive tactics to trap customers in unwanted subscriptions, including “free trials” that automatically convert into paid plans with key disclosures buried in fine print or behind hyperlinks; adding monthly fees after payment information has already been collected; disguising subscriptions as one-time purchases; bundling subscriptions with other services; and making cancellation intentionally difficult by requiring phone calls during limited hours or multiple online steps.
“New Yorkers are paying too much for everyday services because of hidden, unexpected junk fees and illegal subscription traps,” Levine said. “These fees and traps, which have drained household budgets and made daily life harder, have gone unchecked for far too long.”
Menin, a former DCWP commissioner, said she had seen firsthand how deceptive fees and subscription practices erode household finances and undermine trust in the marketplace. She said the executive orders strengthen enforcement, increase price transparency and align city and state efforts.
James said companies are using a wide range of deceptive tactics to raise costs for consumers and said her office has already returned millions of dollars to New Yorkers harmed by such practices.
“I applaud Mayor Mamdani for protecting New Yorkers with these new executive orders and look forward to working with his administration to lower costs,” she said.
City officials said the actions are part of a broader consumer and tenant protection agenda under Mamdani’s administration. On Monday, the mayor signed an executive order calling for “Rental Ripoff” hearings in every borough, where residents can testify about issues including poor building conditions and hidden fees tied to rent payments. The administration plans to publish a summary report of the hearings, and officials said the testimony will directly inform future policy interventions.
Details on the hearings will be posted at nyc.gov/RentalRipoff.