8 JUNE 24, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Street vendors call on Queens electeds to help
halt aggressive fi nes for unlicensed workers
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
A large crowd of mostly Spanishspeaking
street vendors,
gathered in Corona Plaza
on Wednesday, June 16, to call upon
lawmakers to stop heavily enforced
fi nes from being issued to street vendors
struggling to recover from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
As of June 1, agencies started giving
out $1,000 fines to unpermitted
mobile food vendors as part of New
York City’s reopening. Unlicensed
merchandise vendors face a fine of
$250.
Vendors must have a license to sell
any merchandise or food. If caught
without a license, police would potentially
confiscate their goods. However,
licenses are nearly impossible
to obtain due to the legislative cap of
only 853 licenses. The waiting list is
in the thousands, and the chances of
getting a license are slim.
The Street Vendors Project (SVP),
a member-based organization that
protects vendors, organized the
rally to call on lawmakers to not only
relieve the heavy fines but to remove
the cap on licenses.
“How is this city so cruel as to issue
a $1,000 ticket to a mother selling tamales
to take care of her family, after
barely surviving the pandemic, simply
for a lack of business licensing
which she has no way to access due
to the cap on permits and licenses,”
said Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez,
SVP’s deputy director.
Some state and local politicians
attended the rally to show their
support for the street vendors and
Bill S1175A, which looks to legalize
and decriminalize sidewalk vending
across the state.
State Senator Jessica Ramos, who
sponsored the bill, said she wants
to protect the people who have been
working and sacrificing themselves
to provide for their communities and
their families.
“Street vending is as old as New
York City and what we’re asking for
is to stop criminalizing street vending,”
Ramos said. “Everyone who
wants to do honest work should be
able to do so without fear.”
Assemblywoman Jessica González-
Rojas said she would work with
Ramos to get the bill passed in the
Assembly. Currently, the bill is in the
Senate Cities Committee.
“Everyone who surrounds this
plaza kept this city running when
we were all dying, they put their
own lives at risk to serve the city,”
González-Rojas said. “I thank you for
your courage to speak truth to power
The Street Vendors Project rallied a large group of people to call on lawmakers to stop targeting unlicensed
vendors. Photos by Julia Moro
in a city that continues to disrespect
you; this is not okay.”
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards said that as New York City reopens
we shouldn’t forget who kept the
city running during the pandemic.
“These were the essential workers,”
Richards said. “There are those who
had the luxury of staying home and
working on a computer. These folks
were the ones that ran into the burning
building. They are the reason this
city is reopening today, may we not
forget.”
Instead of penalizing hardworking
street vendors, Richards said the city
should be ensuring they get credit
lines and grants.
During the June 16 rally, Corona
Plaza street vendors shared their stories
with the crowd of supporters.
“We are part of the culture, and
we’re not going back into the shadows.
We are not shadows. We never were,”
said Alex Guillen, a Corona Plaza
street vendor. “We are people with
rights and we will continue to fight for
all politicians to listen to us and hear
our needs.”
Isabel Hernandez, a member of New
Immigrant Community Empowerment,
said she was pregnant when she lost
her job during the pandemic and now
sells makeup products as a street
vendor.
“I needed to make money to feed
my family and pay my bills,” said
Hernandez. “Street vendors work
hard but are in constant fear of getting
tickets and getting our things
thrown out. This harassment has to
stop. We work with dignity.”
Ausencia Crus, a vendor in Corona Plaza.
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