NYC Street Vendors Struggle under Limitations 

In Manhattan, the view of vendors and pedestrians crowded the streets is common. Photo taken by Joanna Law/ People's Daily Online

The street was crowded, just like any other streets in New York City. Pedestrians trudged along in all directions, amidst the mutinous honking and static engine humming. A vendor was selling hotdogs on the sidewalk. By law, his cart cannot be too near the commercial stores, nor can it be too far away from the curb. Sandwiched between busy traffic and the throng of pedestrians, the vendor and his cart were rooted to the curb. A car passed by and hit his umbrella, forcing the vendor to move his cart further away from the curb. The vendor was immediately given a ticket for violating the law.

This is a typical scenario NYC vendors are encountering in their daily lives – being penalized for minor violations. Matthew Shapiro, the Staff Attorney for Street Vendor Project representing the above mentioned case, said vendors face numerous limitations when doing their business. People’s Daily Online USA had an interview with him at the organization’s office in Lower Manhattan.

“The city has put a lot of barriers in the way of street vendors. They limited a lot of licenses and food permits. They close a lot of streets. There are hundreds of regulations you have to follow; some of them don’t make any sense,” Shapiro said.

The restrictions imposed on vendors are partly the consequence of the so-called quality of life policing that originated from the 90s, when police determined to crackdown all crimes, giving zero tolerance to even minor offences. Enforcements on vendors have since been strengthened. While officials from the Health Department, the authority that regulates food trucks, would frequently petrol in disguise to inspect food vendors, there’s a special unit of the New York Police Department (NYPD) dedicating just to enforce the street vendors regulations. Any minor mistake they make – either the license is not displayed properly or the cart is parked too far away from the curb – would very likely land them on a fine.

“All they [NYPD and officials] do is to just walk up and down on the streets and give tickets to street vendors,” Shapiro said.

Both the Health Department and NYPD did not reply to People’s Daily Online USA’s inquiry concerning their ways of enforcement.