TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ed Wesley from Jackson Heights Beautification Group: Challenges with Street Vendors
1:34:59
·
156 sec
Ed Wesley, representing the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, addresses the City Council to express the community's concerns over the overwhelming presence of street vendors and e-bike delivery congestion in Jackson Heights, Queens.
He outlines specific areas in the neighborhood where street vending has made it difficult for residents to navigate, and highlights previous attempts at regulation that were not successful.
Speaker 29
1:34:59
Good afternoon.
1:35:01
My name is Ed Wesley.
1:35:02
I'm representing the Jackson Heights beautification group, and I must say it's a pleasure to be one be invited to come to the outer borough of Queen's to address your committee.
1:35:15
We and Jackson Heights are overwhelmed with vendors, street vendors.
1:35:22
It's impossible for many of our community neighbors to pass the streets.
1:35:28
And it's not just street vendors.
1:35:31
As you know, we now have ebikes that are making deliveries.
1:35:35
They are now clogging up our streets because they park on our streets.
1:35:40
They also don't follow the rules.
1:35:43
We have been inundated with from our Bangladesh community on 73rd Street, moving East to 74th Street are Indian neighbors.
1:35:58
Both of those streets have been inundated with street vendors.
1:36:02
And then if you come up 37th Avenue to the commercial, it's 37th Avenue is a commercial district to 82nd Street.
1:36:12
That's even a bid, and they've been overwhelmed for years.
1:36:16
With street vendors.
1:36:18
And if if the law was enforced, you'd have plenty of money to help legitimate street vendors that are looking to feed their families, the law has not been enforced in our neighborhood.
1:36:32
Then you move to Junction Boulevard and 90th Street, it's the same situation.
1:36:38
Now they have been progress in the Corona Plaza area.
1:36:43
The unlicensed people were moved out, and our neighbors breathe a sigh of relief.
1:36:49
The same thing happened in Flushing when Main Street And Roosevelt Avenue were cleared of street vendors.
1:36:57
The same thing happened on the Brooklyn Bridge, which was the mayor's intention to clear the vin street vendors there.
1:37:05
So this is not a problem in our community.
1:37:08
We have enough street vendors, and we've back in 2021, we even tried to locate them in front of our school.
Speaker 1
1:37:17
To wrap up.
Speaker 29
1:37:17
Okay.
1:37:19
We tried to locate them in front of our school.
1:37:22
PS 69.
1:37:23
It was a win win because the school was collecting the rental money, but nobody followed the rule and it was abandoned.
1:37:31
Several years later.
1:37:32
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1
1:37:33
Okay.
1:37:34
Thank you.