Whether you’re on the bustling 125th St. shopping strip in Harlem, Times Square, Union Square, Canal Street, the Brooklyn Bridge-anywhere with shopping and tourism-a common NYC staple that has been ever present since the 1800’s is street vending.
Street vendors have been around basically since New York City became a modern economic metropolis. Street vending started as a source of income for veterans, and eventually spread to be a popular business for immigrants in NYC. Shopping from street vendors is a great way to obtain gadgets, clothes, posters and more at cheap prices. It can also be an effective way to support small and micro businesses. Still while some New Yorkers find street vendors to be a neighborhood necessity, others find it troublesome and controversial and city officials seem determined to impede the success of street vendors in hopes of ‘cleaning up the city.’
Another issue in regards to street vending is the current migrant crisis NYC is facing. The massive influx of illegal immigrants pouring into NYC has also brought more controversy to the already confusing and poorly managed street vending protocols. Many immigrants coming into the city from around the world resort to street vending to start providing a means for themselves and any loved ones they may be with. This has created more competition amongst vendors that were already there and have pushed for the turf they’ve settled on. NYC officials have also noted this as being a large reason why vending areas have gotten especially-and dangerously-crowded recently.
On Wednesday, January 3, Mayor Eric Adams’ ban on street vendors (licensed or not) located along the Brooklyn Bridge walkway took effect-pushing out vendors-some of whom have been practicing their business in that area for years.
This eviction was in response to the heavy congestion and traffic on the popular walkway over the holidays. Officials reported this area turned quite dangerous as pedestrians were seen jumping onto the bike lane-several feet below the pedestrian walkway-to escape the blockades of people.
“It’s not only a sanitary issue, it’s a public safety issue,” Adams said about the bridge according to the AP News. “People would’ve trampled over each other. We need order in this city. That is one of our major landmarks.”
While sanitation and public safety should be a central concern in NYC no doubt-it seems like there really isn’t any consideration for the livelihoods of street vendors-a common trend we’ve seen in the way the city has dealt with vendors since Rudy Giuliani. Instead of just completely wiping out a popular area for vendors and shoppers alike, couldn’t more regulation have taken place before?
MD Rahman, a licensed vendor on the Brooklyn Bridge who has sold hot dogs and pretzels for over 15 years told AP News he wanted to defy the new eviction rule but it was too much of a risk for him.
“To punish everyone, it’s crazy. I don’t know what is going to happen to my family now,” he said.
Michael Seri, a Brooklyn local and vendor told the Brooklyn Paper that his business sales are plummeting since the bridge eviction.
“It needed to get cleaned up and tightened up but they didn’t have to throw us all off the bridge, they could have done it without going to drastic measures,” he said. “I think officials have shot themselves in the foot because the sale taxes that were coming in are gone now.”
Coincidentally, the New York City Independent Budget Office came out with a study this month that highlights the fact that allowing more vendor permits could actually fiscally aid the city through sales tax revenue. The study highlights that vendor permit caps have created waitlists of over 20,000 people looking to legally sell their products on the street. According to this study, if city-issued permits were given to these waitlisters, this could raise $17 million in revenue for the city and could be the greatest amount of new income.
“We always said that formalizing this industry would benefit everyone,” said Mohamed Attia, a former vendor turned managing director of the Urban Justice Center’s Street Vendor Project to StreetsBlog NYC. “[It] will benefit the city, will benefit the vendor community, and of course benefit all New Yorkers who will deal with regulated businesses and regulated workers.”
“If vendors in this position could instead secure a city-issued permit for the notably lower cost of the City’s licensing fee, they could increase their annual profits by thousands of dollars,” Attia added.
So if this is the case, why haven’t city officials worked to better accommodate and regulate street vendors instead of continuously terrorizing businesses by quick evictions, seizing products, lengthy and costly permit applications and more? While once again sanitation and safety is important, is it fair to blame street vendors as the sole issue? While the current migrant crisis could be causing this congestion, wasn’t it Mayor Adams himself who said that all asylum seekers were welcome to come find work in the city?
While the answer to the street vending issue in NYC may not be as simple as we would like it to be, there must be better solutions for vendors instead of just trying to wipe them away for the sake of a clean look.
“That Brooklyn Bridge today, that is clean, that is clear, that does not have people lined up on both sides that are selling every and anything,” Adams said January 3, i.e, the day of eviction calling the bridge “the symbol of what [he] believe[s] the city should look like.”
