Sidewalks along Canal Street in Lower Manhattan were eerily empty the morning after Federal agents conducted a sweep of the area and cuffed dozens of vendors.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
I was born and raised in the Village of Harlem, where over 20 years ago I decided to take my chances on starting a small business, and became a street vendor. 20 years later, and I’m still waiting to get my general vendor license and still waiting for the chance to even place my name on the waitlist so that I can, in the eyes of the law, call my business my own. That’s the situation of the majority of vendors like myself who are out working every single day. Because of decades of government inaction, 75% of food vendors and 40% of merchandise vendors are operating without a license, treated not as small business owners but as criminals, forced to exist in the shadows.
Street vending is the fabric of NYC communities
Street vending is the fabric of our community. You want something that’s Harlem, you go to a vendor. You can taste the flavor of the community, the flavor of the United States through vendors. We may come from different places and speak different languages, but vendors share a common story. Whether you’re White, Black, Chinese, Hungarian, Indian, we are all in the struggle together because we are all vendors. A vendor is an entrepreneur. Someone trying to provide for his family, trying to pay his rent, trying to put clothes on his back and on his kids’ backs. Who would not want to support someone working hard to do exactly that, and to do it the right way? Many of the biggest businesses in this country, including KFC, started selling on the streets.
That is why I support Intro 431-B, legislation before New York City Council that gives vendors a chance to apply for new licenses for their businesses so long as we follow strict rules that dictate when, how, and where you can operate. The amended bill balances license access with stronger and clearer enforcement, with five key provisions: (1) gradual expansion of licenses over five years; (2) proportional increases in DSNY vending enforcement staff; (3) a strengthened three strikes process for license revocation; (4) new responsibilities for vendors to prevent litter and illegal dumping; and (5) annual reporting and recommendations from the bipartisan Street Vendor Advisory Board.
Intro 431-B was the product of months of intensive negotiations and incorporates multiple substantive changes that directly respond to concerns raised by both vendors and brick-and-mortar businesses. That is why this legislation now has support from a broad coalition, including immigrant rights organizations, public space advocates, as well as major brick-and-mortar stakeholders like Gristedes, the National Supermarket Association, and United Bodegueros of America. It pairs expanded legal pathways for vendors with stronger, clearer enforcement tools for bad actors, and it moves us beyond a broken status quo that serves no one.
The biggest challenge is not making enough money to pay my rent, to put food on my table, to keep a roof over my head, to pay for school books and sneakers for my grandkids and my kids. The real challenge is being criminalized and humiliated while trying to survive. No one wants to live in the streets. No one wants to live in a shelter. We want the American dream like anybody else. I am a citizen of the United States, and I am entitled to pursue that dream like everybody.
It would change my life tremendously if the New York City Council passes Intro 431-B so that I could finally obtain a license of my own. Because after a license, where’s your next step? Your next step is stability! You no longer have to worry about all of your products being seized, about steep fines, about harassment. Not only would it help me, it would help my wife, my kids, my grandkids. The impact does not stop with one person. It is a domino effect. What helps me helps them, and what helps them helps the next vendor who is struggling. That is why I say we are one and the same.
City Council, New Yorkers are counting on you to make the right decision and pass Intro 431-B.
Calvin Baker is a Leadership Board Member at the Street Vendor Project and Deacon at the Christ Temple Church in the Village of Harlem.
