QUESTION
Council Member Brewer Asks Street Vendor Project About Vending Mix on Brooklyn Bridge
1:00:29
·
113 sec
Council Member Gale Brewer inquires about the ideal mix of vendors on the Brooklyn Bridge, navigating through concerns of overcrowding and types of vending that could be permitted.
The Street Vendor Project advocates for a reasonable mix, including merchandise, artwork vendors, and small food carts, emphasizing their historical presence and compliance with regulations prior to recent restrictions. The discussion also touches on the repercussions faced by vendors post-enforcement and their opportunities for relocation.
Speaker 4
1:00:29
For the street vendor project, when the I think it was crowded.
1:00:33
I think you'd agree with that.
1:00:35
What kind of mix would you suggest?
1:00:37
Would it be food and goods?
1:00:40
Would it be licensed?
1:00:43
Probably, what what kind of mix do you think would work on a bridge such as a Brooklyn Bridge?
Speaker 19
1:00:48
Oh, thanks for the question, council member.
1:00:50
We believe that for so many years now.
1:00:53
A lot of merchandise vendors and artwork vendors have been operating on the bridge, especially those who have like non food vendor setups.
1:01:03
Their setup is three foot wide.
1:01:05
They cannot have any wider setup regardless of them having a license or not.
Speaker 18
1:01:10
Okay.
Speaker 19
1:01:10
And having those vendors on the bridge, we believe, is very reasonable, and that's what have been existing before January 3rd when the DOT impose their plan, but also food vendors who run a very small food card like a Hado Kart, like one of our members would be testifying today has been there since 2009, and he was never a safety concern.
1:01:31
He was never a safety issue.
1:01:33
I think that main problem that DOT fails to acknowledge the lack of enforcement on certain areas on the bridge pathway where some vendors are taking so much space.
1:01:44
Pretty much few vendors.
1:01:46
We can count a handful of vendors who have created that situation that we are seeing right here.
1:01:52
But the vast majority of vendors have been in compliance They are military veterans who are licensed by DCWP.
1:01:58
They are following all the rules, but now everyone is being punished and everyone is being kicked out of the of the bridge.
Speaker 4
1:02:04
And where did they go in this interim all over?
1:02:07
The ones that could go somewhere?
Speaker 19
1:02:09
Few of them have relocated to spaces in downtown, Brooklyn, Downtown Manhattan, while others are out of business completely.
Speaker 4
1:02:17
Okay.
1:02:18
Thank you, madam chair.
Speaker 1
1:02:19
Thank you.
1:02:20
And now, council member Dela Rosa.