Times Square rally seeks to expand street
vendors - but can New York City take it?
BY TODD MAISEL
Street vendors, elected offi cials and allied organizations
rallied in Times Square on Aug. 13 demanding
that Speaker Corey Johnson and the City Council
pass of Intro 1116, which would legalize thousands of small
businesses by lifting the decades-old cap on permits.
The bill would not only legitimize 4,000 vendors in New
York City, but it also welcomes new entries into the market
— many of whom are from immigrant families hardest hit
economically by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those
currently operating food carts in the city are immigrants
themselves, and they seek to support them in their efforts
to become food vendors also.
The proposal, which amends street vendor rules enacted
in 1983, would gradually increase the number of permits
and licenses issued, and increase fees charged for those
permits. But the bill is not without its critics who worry
that there is currently no enforcement of existing rule. With
the NYPD being shifted away from vendor enforcement, it
is still unclear among many as to which agency will bear
that responsibility.
Rally leaders on Thursday say street vendors are essential
workers who ensured NYC’s hard-hit neighborhoods had
access to fresh, affordable food throughout the COVID-19
pandemic. Annually, they generate an estimated $71.2 million
in local, state, and federal taxes, and contribute nearly
$293 million to the city’s economy.
Yet street vendors have been excluded from almost every
form of COVID-19 related relief, be it due to immigration
status, the informal nature of their businesses, or continued
discrimination against vendors.
Among those supporting the bill at the rally were Borough
Presidents Eric Adams of Brooklyn and Gale Brewer
of Manhattan. Adams and Brewer maintained that the
vendors are an advantage bringing commerce, generating
economic activity, being the eyes and ears of law enforcement
and providing jobs.
Umberto Fernandez and Alejandro Moreno sell hot
nuts.
“Let’s be clear – street vending is part of the American
dream,” Adams said. “Just about every successful retailer in
this country started out somewhere on a street corner selling
their merchandise and given the opportunity. In those
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adam spoke in favor of the expansion of street vendors on city streets.
days, the city participated and helped, so why now do we
go instead of participating and helping, we go and become
a barrier of destruction? It’s destroying an industry and
making it impossible for so many people to experience the
American dream and instead turning it into an American
nightmare.”
Brewer, who’s borough is most impacted by street
vendors, said there is “plenty of room” for new permits
without damaging existing brick and mortar businesses.
She recognized that many Business Improvement Districts
were not in favor of the expansion of permits.
“The issue is very clear – we have to have real enforcement
and I know that the business improvement districts
are very upset about this bill,” Brewer said. “If there is
enforcement that is real, and there is supervision, then
there is room for a middle ground.”
She added, “most of them (the street vendors) are in
Manhattan because that is where the tourists and the
expensive food, but we do need food in our midtown area
that people can afford. If there is real enforcement, there
is a middle ground.”
Rob Walsh, former commissioner of the city’s Small
Business Services and a small business commentator on
1010 WINS radio, cautioned that any change in the vending
law should be supported by proper enforcement by a
city agency, will the citing of carts be ‘equitable,’ something
he says is currently not in place.
“The problem is enforcement, and what do you do?
Will NYPD do this? Nobody has the bodies or authority,”
Walsh said. “Right now, they have closed streets including
on Montague Street in Brooklyn and you have vendors
camping right outside brick and mortar stores that are
paying taxes, rents – but there is no enforcement.”
Barbara Askins, executive director of the 125th Street
Business Improvement District in Harlem, says she has
PHOTOS BY TODD MAISEL
many questions about how an expansion of vendor permits
will work and who will enforce the rules.
“Before we expand, what’s on the table?” Askins asked.
“Right now, the city doesn’t have the resources to manage
existing vending programs; will they be allocating new
funding for expanding vending? Who will make sure
they are in compliance with social distancing and safety
is important.”
Askins said that since the city was hit with COVID-19,
they are dealing with a proliferation of vendors putting
up large tents without regard to vending rules on 125th
Street.
“So who do you call to deal with it? Vendors are fi ghting
over spaces. Who do you call? Not police – who is supposed
to handle this?” Askins queried. “Certainly, there
should be opportunity opened for street venders as we do
for other businesses, but we cannot keep doing things and
fi guring it after you do it.”
TJ Whitham, director of Communications for the Times
Square Alliance, where many new vendors may end up,
issued a statement on behalf of his organization saying,
”On this issue, because it is citywide we feel it is more
important for the BID association to comment.”
Much of the focus has come to Council Speaker Corey
Johnson where the bill already has 26 votes in favor. The
speaker has been mum on the bill up to now, despite critics
on both sides saying he should take a position.
A spokesman for Johnson issued 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.”
4 August 20, 2020 Schneps Media