City Hall rally seeks
greater freedom for
NYC street vendors
BY TODD MAISEL
Dozens of street vendors joined
elected offi cials at a City Hall rally
on Sept. 24, demanding the City
Council pass legislation that will expand
vendor permits and create an Offi ce of
Street Vendor Enforcement to totally
remove the NYPD from writing vendor
summonses for good.
The legislation, Intro 1116, would lift a
decades-old cap on-street permits, adding
thousands of new permits. The bill, pending
in the City Council, would also create
a new offi ce of Street Vendor Enforcement
Councilwoman Margaret Chin says they have the votes to pass Intro 1116.
to replace the NYPD, who disbanded the
Peddler Task Force. NYPD offi cials say that
while they no longer have the task-force,
they still, “respond to 311 service requests
and 911 calls related to vendors.”
The rally, organized by the Street Vendor
Project and the Urban Justice Center,
is the second such rally, the other held in
August in Times Square sought to convince
Council Speaker Corey Johnson to move
the legislation to a vote. Johnson continues
to stymie that effort as some council
members believe increasing vendors would
harm already struggling brick and mortar
businesses who were forced to close and
are struggling to pay rents.
Some vendors at the rally which was
held next to the Municipal Building across
from City Hall, say they have received
summonses from police for illegal vending.
Vendors and elected offi cials called on the
city to completely remove the NYPD from
that role, something that the legislation will
accomplish.
In 1983, the City Council placed hard
restrictions on the number of mobile food
vending permits in existence, capping the
number at roughly 4,000. The cap was
spurred by retail restaurants and delis who
said at the time that street vendors were
taking business from them, undercutting
them, but were not paying rent or proper
taxes to the city. In addition, some areas
were becoming inundated with on street
vendors.
This restriction reduced the existing
number of permits by more than half,
leading to waiting lists that now stretch
as long as 20 years. In addition, an underground
market in vending permits
sprung up, whereby permits, which are
renewable every two years for $200, are
trade for up to $25,000. At the same time,
thousands of vendors sell food without
permits simply because they are unable
to get one, risking heavy fi nes and arrest.
Vendors and their leaders say that the
fi nes are even more burdensome during
the Covid-19 pandemic – many of those
vendors became unemployed during the
virus spread and sought to do vending to
make ends meet.
Leaders say street vendors are important
to the city economy, but Speaker Johnson
has not yet called the legislation to a vote.
Councilwoman Margaret Chin said at the
rally that they have “more than enough
votes to approve the legislation and even
survive a potential mayoral veto.”
Street vendors were joined by elected officials seeking to push through Intro
1116 that would increase the number of street permits and remove the NYPD
from enforcement for good.
“As New Yorkers struggle through the
worst of the pandemic, street vendors
provided a lifeline of affordable culturally
competent meals throughout the fi ve
boroughs,” she said. “It’s unacceptable that
our city has not yet given street vendors the
support and economic relief they deserve.
It’s time to pass Intro 1116 and ensure that
New York City’s recovery includes these
essential immigrant workers.”
State Senator Jessica Ramos was equally
strident in her support of the legislation.
“The lack of permits available for vendors
has created a black market that hinders
opportunity, especially for so many of our
undocumented neighbors who currently
have no other means to make ends meet,
– no stimulus check, no unemployment
insurance,” she said. “Every single person
has the right to provide for themselves and
every New Yorker should be encouraged to
innovate, create and invest in our economy
without being criminalized.”
Several vendors spoke at the rally,
PHOTOS BY TODD MAISEL
including Nabil Boussbaa, a 46-year-old
Moroccan who is supporting a wife and
5-year-old boy.
“I am not the owner of the food cart,
I work on the cart for daily payment and
I don’t have a permit because the city
stopped giving permits,” he said. “I have
been waiting for the city to help us or give
us permits as they promised us for many
years, but unfortunately I’m still waiting.”
He said the police have given him fi nes,
one for $500 because he was too close to
a crosswalk.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson
responded with this statement:
“Speaker Johnson is aware of how important
street vendors are to our economy
and our city. At a time when we are facing
a dire economic crisis, street vendors offer
affordable food options for New Yorker’s,
and the jobs they provide are a lifeline for
immigrants New Yorker’s. He is working
towards fi nding ways to help this vital
industry.”
Nabil Boussbaa, a 46-year-old Moroccan who is supporting a wife and 5-yearold
boy.
4 October 1, 2020 Schneps Media