QUESTION
Council Member Sanchez Asks About Siting Clarification in Intro 1253
1:10:10
·
168 sec
Exploring Intro 1253, Council Member Sanchez co-sponsors a bill aimed at clarifying siting regulations for street vendors.
The discussion delves into the enforcement approach of the Department of Sanitation, focusing on compliance with siting rules rather than permit issuance. The Street Vendor Project shares insights on the challenges vendors face regarding legal vending spots and interactions with enforcement agencies, emphasizing the need for clear guidelines to enhance the vending experience in communities.
Speaker 18
1:10:10
So my question in particular is about intro 1253, which I view as a positive step clarifying citing regulations, and I'm a co sponsor of.
1:10:20
So the administration in in previous hearings has you know, alluded to a particular department of sanitation has alluded to an enforcement approach that says, where they say, that they focus on citing rules, that they focus on, you know, compliance with existing citing rules, not as much with who has a permit or a license or, you know, the rest.
1:10:41
And so I'm I'm curious from from your perspective, this clarification, which I view as a step in the in the right direction, how do you think it will change the experience of our street vendors on on the ground in our communities?
Speaker 19
1:10:56
I think it would be very helpful to clarify all the citing rules, which is something which are starting with with this bill in particular, but so many other rules are very difficult.
1:11:04
And it's something that we keep sharing a lot over and over again that some people, including city agencies, are under the illusion that it is very easy to find the legal spot.
1:11:14
Which is not true, as my colleague here shared, 80% of our public sidewalks are off limits.
1:11:19
If you look at city data, only 20%, actually less than 20%, are 12 feet wider wider.
1:11:25
Now we have so many other rules that you have to comply with.
1:11:28
You cannot be on a bus stop.
1:11:29
You cannot be on a taxi stand.
1:11:30
You cannot be on an outstanding Zoho adjacent to a hospital.
1:11:33
You have to keep all these distances from different things like driveways, crosswalk, building entrances, and the more violations that the vendors are, quote unquote, having in their businesses, the more likely they're gonna interact with enforcement agencies.
1:11:48
When it gets to sanitation department in particular, a lot of my colleagues here and our members will share their experience with enforcement.
1:11:55
They are not going after citing rules only.
1:11:57
We have people who have very neat setups by the book, 8 by 3, keeping all the measurements, and yet The sanitation police still go after them.
1:12:07
They give them tickets for licenses.
1:12:09
They seize their properties, and it happened as recent as the last few weeks.
Speaker 21
1:12:15
If I may just add with that, you know, one of the experiences you'll hear from our members today, a member who's coming in, who sells food in the northwest Bronx, They came into our office on Monday with a ticket for $4000 for selling without permits.
1:12:29
Right?
1:12:29
And Yes.
1:12:31
Citing rules and regulations absolutely need to be followed.
1:12:34
They need to be fair, and they need to be just, they need to respect our small businesses, which this legislation flation truly starts to address those safety concerns, but it must be coupled with a larger reform of the street vending system.
Speaker 18
1:12:48
Thank you, both.
1:12:49
Thank you, Chuck.
Speaker 1
1:12:50
Okay.
1:12:50
Thank you to this panel.
1:12:52
Thank you so much.
1:12:53
We are now so we have a lot of speakers, so we're going to call up the next panel.