City’s vendors push for passage of reform bill

“International Street Vendor Day is when street vendors are recognized for their contributions and are celebrated by the world. But today we’re here because we want recognition from our own city.”

So said Guadalupe Sosa, a lifelong Harlem resident and second-generation street vendor. She was joined last Wednesday by dozens of other vendors from the Street Vendor Project outside the City Hall gates for a rally and food celebration. 

Advocates for the vendors highlight that street vendors make up a vital part of New York City’s urban fabric, activating an otherwise blank sidewalk with hot dog stands, halal food carts, jewelry and souvenir tables, and more. Street vending is also an essential way for working-class immigrants to make a living and hold cultural space in their neighborhoods. 

That the vendors and their backers were rallying before International Street Vendor Day is celebrated Nov. 14 was testament to the urgency facing the vendors, who assembled on Broadway to share tacos, churros and nachos with one another to celebrate their contributions. 

Despite there being an estimated 23,000 vendors across the five boroughs, however, nearly three-quarters operate without a license. Vendors and elected officials at the rally emphasized the need to pass City Council legislation that would increase the amount of licenses for vendors while also beefing up enforcement for vendors who don’t comply. 

The bill, sponsored by Bronx Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez, would add 2,000 new food vending licenses and 2,100 general vending licenses each year for the next five years, increase enforcement measures in the most congested areas and and in those with repeat offenders, and mandate reporting when license agreements are violated.

Bills regarding street vending have undergone serious debate in city council, with Eric Adams vetoing a series of bills only to be overridden by the Council. Sanchez, the granddaughter and daughter of vendors, acknowledged her colleagues' hesitations in approving the bill, citing concerns from brick-and-mortar merchants, the possible disorder that could ensue with the influx of new vendors. 

“Call it street-vending chaos,” said Sanchez. “It’s a two-fold problem. One is that there are no incentives to comply, because even people that do have licenses and a small setup will be undermined by people that are unlicensed and have giant spreads — who eventually get more sales than them.

“Two is that there is a complete lack of enforcement. Sanitation might come today, and might throw away everybody’s goods in one fell swoop. You’ve seen these videos that go viral. But they won’t be back for a couple months. That is a result of us having only 35 agents for the entire city, but 20,000 complaints received a year.”

Hailin, a Chinese street vendor in Flushing, said that while increasing the number of licenses was essential, so was stepped-up regulation. 

“It’s a very contradictory situation,” she said. “The government and police are constantly interfering with our businesses, but at the same time are closing the doors so we can’t get licenses. It doesn’t need to be this complicated.”

By combining increased licenses with increased enforcement, advocates say the Council’s bill would address concerns while ensuring that street vendors can continue contributing to their neighborhoods and the city’s culture.

But with just three Council meetings remaining this session, street vendors called for legislators to join them in supporting Sanchez’s bill.