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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Mohamed Attia, Managing Director of Street Vendor Project
2:13:26
ยท
140 sec
Mohamed Attia, Managing Director of the Street Vendor Project, testifies about the challenges faced by street vendors in New York City and calls for reforms to the vending industry. He requests funding for the Street Vendor Project and urges the City Council to pass street vendor reform legislation, particularly Intro 431.
- Highlights the unfair treatment of street vendors, including excessive fines, tickets, and arrests
- Emphasizes the vulnerability of immigrant vendors and the risk of ICE involvement due to criminal tickets
- Advocates for the creation of thousands of new vending licenses and permits through Intro 431
- Calls for a hearing on Intro 431 and immediate action from the City Council to protect and support the vending community
Mohamed Attia
2:13:26
Good afternoon, chairman and council member Brewer.
2:13:30
My name is Mohammed Atayah.
2:13:31
I'm the managing director of the chief vendor project.
2:13:34
I wanna talk briefly about SVP.
2:13:36
We provide legal representation, outreach, and small business support to hundreds of chief vendors across the city.
2:13:41
We respectfully request that the council considers our funding applications for this fiscal year to ensure that we do our best to meet the demand that is increasing.
2:13:50
For decades, street vendors in New York City have been dealing with an unfair system.
2:13:54
There is no support.
2:13:55
There is no licenses, only tickets, fines, and arrest.
2:13:58
Vendors want to follow the rules, but the city is not allowing them to do so.
2:14:03
However, vendors are being penalized for the government's failure to regulate the street vending industry.
2:14:09
Vendors are so disappointed that the city government hasn't stepped up in the most horrific times in recent history while immigrants are under constant attack.
2:14:19
As an immigrant myself and a former vendor, I know for his hand the risk and fear the vendors take every day going out to work facing various enforcement agencies who treat them as criminals.
2:14:29
With the increased enforcement and criminal tickets issued to vendors, they are becoming more vulnerable to getting in contact with ICE and face serious consequences.
2:14:37
Last year alone, the police issued more than 2,000 criminal tickets to street vendors.
2:14:42
New York City has the opportunity to provide protection to our communities by passing the street vendor reform package.
2:14:48
You pretty much know the numbers of the bills.
2:14:51
The most crucial piece here is the and the reform is ensuring that the vendors have access to the business licenses.
2:14:57
By passing intro four thirty one, the city will create thousands of licenses and permits desperately needed to formalize the vending industry, and you can see how many millions will be generated into the local economy and in the city's budget.
2:15:10
I provided that in the IBO report attached to my testimony.
2:15:13
And since we're here before this committee, we hope that the committee will schedule a hearing on the this very important bill, intro four thirty one, a conversation that has been going on for more than a decade, but yet everyone is trying to avoid it.
2:15:26
The vendors now do need sympathetic speeches.
2:15:29
They really need actions, reforms, and protections.
2:15:32
Only the city council has the authority to do that, not the administration, not the federal government, only the city council.
2:15:38
But yet, it hasn't done anything about it.
2:15:40
We are looking forward to working with you in the near future to ensure that New York City is a safe place for the vendor's community.
2:15:46
Thank you so much.