TESTIMONY
Testimony by MD Rahman: A Food Vendor's Struggle on the Brooklyn Bridge
3:09:52
·
135 sec
MD Rahman, a food vendor from Bangladesh, shares his experience of selling hotdogs, cold water, and soda on the Brooklyn Bridge for over 15 years. Rahman discusses the impact of recent changes, including the separation of bike and pedestrian lanes and the bridge's closure, on his livelihood. With a family to support, including his child, wife, and elderly mother, Rahman expresses distress over losing his job without alternative support or unemployment benefits. He questions the security reasons cited for the bridge's closure, pointing to similar activities near Brooklyn Borough Hall Park, and pleads for reinstatement of his vending rights to support his family.
Speaker 44
3:09:52
Good evening.
3:09:54
Thank you.
3:09:55
Carlosil, for being me here too, hello, to speak.
3:09:58
My name is Embiid Rahman.
3:10:00
I am Emigyan from Bangladesh.
3:10:02
I'm coming this country, like, 2009.
3:10:04
I'm a food bender, I'm selling hotdog, cold water soda on the Brooklyn bill more than 15 years now.
Speaker 8
3:10:13
And now I'm on the
Speaker 44
3:10:14
I'm still on the Manhattan side.
3:10:16
I'm selling my stuff.
3:10:17
So wanna share my some experience because I'm a long time.
3:10:23
I'm the first to one bending on the bridge from 2009 to now.
3:10:28
I only share my experience because before before the pandemic, bike line and work line was together.
3:10:35
Now they make separate bike lane and work line separate with the most space.
3:10:40
And now they try Now they close the bridge, and they take my my job.
3:10:45
And our friend, we have a lot of binder over here for working on the Bucharest They take my job away.
3:10:51
I don't know what kind of decision because I need to take care of my family.
3:10:55
I have my one kids.
3:10:57
I have my wife.
3:10:57
I have my sixty five years older my mom with Millip together.
3:11:03
I know make over here like $1,000,000 I try to pay my bill.
3:11:07
I make every day $100, $50.
3:11:10
I'm happy.
3:11:10
So I'm losing my job now.
3:11:13
I don't have any unemployment.
3:11:15
I I'm strange for this decision because I cannot take you, I take care of my family and my life.
3:11:21
So thank you.
3:11:24
Thank you for the being me here to be allowed to speak and I need to support for my job.
3:11:33
For my family take care.
3:11:35
And another thing I wanna share you guys because if the the security reason they closed the bridge, If the security reason, you guys go there now, they're working in front of the Brooklyn B.
3:11:47
C.
3:11:47
D.
3:11:48
Hall Park like Tian Pusker.
3:11:50
So I think I think not this is for the security reason because this part is almost like same the booking bridge in front of the booking bridge.
3:11:57
So I need to find information to wrap up my job.
3:12:02
Yeah.
3:12:02
Take my job.
3:12:03
Again, and I need to take care of my family.
3:12:05
Thank you.
Speaker 1
3:12:05
Okay.
3:12:06
Thank you very much.