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The Injustice of Street Vending

By: Justin Valentin

LLS-100

Latina/os and Justice in New York

Getting to know Street Vendors

In New York City there are about Twenty Thousand street vendors located in all different boroughs, who have been a part of the society for two hundred years.

Vendors sell everything they get their hands on. For instance, hot dogs, phone cases, bags, glasses, and many more items.

People see vendors as small business people, who are trying to make a living by selling on the street trying to make ends meet.

According to the Urban Justice Center community, street vendors are mostly composed of immigrants and people of color.

Becoming a Street Vendor

If you decide to start vending on the streets you must have General Vendor License. This license gives you the permission to sell/lease goods in public places that is not considered a store. The only times that you do not need a General Vendor License is when you are selling anything that is considered a; written matter, piece of art, food (requires a license from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, sell on a private property, or sell from a stand. To apply for the General Vendor License you must fill out the application, need eligibility to apply, need a passport, and a certificate of authority. Moreover you need vendor residence form, proof of home address, and proof of your tax clearance.

Exploring the Injustice of Street Vending

Ever since street vendors hit our societies, they have been known to be victimized by the government and by the New York Police Department. The city is finding every possible way to make street vending illegal which becomes an injustice.

These vendors have been denied their access to receive their vending licenses for many reasons. For example, being an immigrant. If the street vendor is an immigrant, and is street vending, he/she would most likely be deported since they have no papers. Vendors that are immigrants have a hard time with Police officers because of the language barrier.

Another example of the city finding an end to street vending is by if you not having a license then you will be automatically arrested, and your merchandise will be taken by the officers. All of a sudden it becomes a criminal act.

Pursuing this further, another injustice that street vendors face today is how they are unreasonably harassed by New York police officers, and how their property is being seized illegally.

The Street Vendor Project

The Street Vendor Project works to improve and correct the social injustices faced by the vendors on the street.

One way they reach out to the sellers are by holding clinic to educate them about vendor rights.

Vendors are taught to be respectful to the authority, no matter how much they are harassed. They are also taught to take down the badge numbers and file complaints against offensive officers.

Moreover, The Street Vendor Project arranges for the street vendors to participate in political events that can better their future.

They hold campaigns to endure the public and the policy makers to understand the importance of street vendors and the role that they play in our life.

Last but not least, they are 1,500 members strong just on active vendors alone.

The Advocacy In 2006 the Bloomberg administration decided to quadruple the penalties on licensed street vendors, from two hundred and fifty dollars to one thousand dollars per ticket. These infractions can be consisted of forgetting to show their license or being to close to the curb. The Street Vendor Project (SVP) turned it all around after filing two law suits which came to a conclusion (two bills were passed) that the maximum ticket a vendor can get is two hundred and fifty dollars, and the second is that the only way a fine can escalate is by the vendor repeating the same violation. The SVP started a collaboration named the Push Cart Fund. This fund will make loans up to two thousand dollars to give to New York City Street Vendors so they can pay off fines that they received and/or to help their businesses grow. Some vendors need it to buy new equipment, and products. Others need it to pay off tickets, or to renew their license. Additionally, this collaboration is trying to raise thirty thousand dollars to give to the vendors which can provide to fifteen to twenty members that are in need of help.

Connection to the Class

This topic of Street Vendors can relate to the class because a large population of street vendors are Hispanic, some being immigrants.

Many of the Hispanic people do face injustices when it comes down to Street Vending.

Many immigrants cannot get a real job because of they do not have papers. Therefore, they start selling on the streets day and night to make some money in harsh conditions.

Opinions“I think they are trying to make money which is good for them but they are doing it illegally.”“Street vendors are bad for business because most of the stuff that is being sold is not real.”“The music and movie industry is being hurt the most.”“Child labor.”

Statistics Market Size: Billions

Market Forecast: Billions

Geographic Market Distribution

Social Media

http://www.flickr.com/photos/109041546@N07/

https://www.facebook.com/justin.valentin.7737

Bibliography

The Street Vendor Project. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://streetvendor.org 

Industry Statistics. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.pellresearch.com/Mobile-Food-Services-Street-Vendors.htm

Urban Justice - Projects - Street Vendor. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.urbanjustice.org/ujc/projects/street.html

DNAinfo.com New York. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/tags/street-vendor-project

Candy Chang Street Vendor Guide Comments. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://candychang.com/street-vendor-guide/