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Council Member Pierina Sanchez discusses street vending reform and Intro 431
0:14:28
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4 min
Council Member Pierina Sanchez presents her views on the current state of street vending in New York City and discusses the proposed legislation, particularly Intro 431. She highlights the challenges faced by street vendors, the ineffectiveness of the current licensing system, and the potential benefits of reforming the street vending regulations.
- Sanchez emphasizes the importance of street vendors to New York City's economy and culture, particularly for immigrant communities.
- She explains how Intro 431 aims to increase access to vending licenses over time and eventually lift the cap on licenses.
- Sanchez also mentions proposed amendments to strengthen enforcement and her efforts to engage various stakeholders in developing solutions.
Pierina Sanchez
0:14:28
Thank you so much chair Menon.
0:14:29
I'd also like to thank the speaker, my my partner in crime, majority leader Farias on co priming four thirty one, and all the 25 co sponsors that Intro four thirty one has.
0:14:42
I'd also like to thank all of the members of the administration who are here, and those who have taken time off work to testify before the council.
0:14:50
Our city is home to over 23,000 street vendors.
0:14:55
They are our smallest businesses, a mainstay of the vibrant street life that makes New York City great, and for generations they have served as a foothold for immigrant New Yorkers trying to find a way in the city.
0:15:06
I know firsthand I am the daughter and granddaughter of street vendors.
0:15:11
But I also know that today, and I think that many of us agree, our street vending system is broken.
0:15:17
Access to licenses is incredibly scarce thanks to an outdated cap created in the 80s with more than 10,000 individuals sitting on a now closed waiting list.
0:15:27
Many vendors wait years and in some cases even decades to finally win their golden ticket.
0:15:34
Today nearly 70% of street vendors citywide, and in my district 80 or 90% even on some beautiful days operate without a license.
0:15:44
Not because they do not want to follow the rules, but because we've created a system that locks them out.
0:15:49
And instead of supporting them, we've increased enforcement, NYPD enforcement, putting immigrant vendors at risk of immigration enforcement exposure.
0:15:58
No one should fear deportation for trying to feed their family the right way.
0:16:04
This lack of access is partly responsible for an enforcement regime that has failed everyone.
0:16:09
Enforcement is uneven, arbitrary, unfair, where agency sweeps lead to large confiscation of vendor goods but fail to deter the bad actors who are back again the next week, sometimes the same afternoon.
0:16:23
Enforcement has also been ineffective precisely because licenses are so unavailable.
0:16:30
Without access, unlicensed vending has proliferated and without a license that they could lose, vendors have no real incentive to follow the rules designed to bring order to our streets.
0:16:41
My Bill four thirty one, part of the larger street vending reform package, attempts to address these fundamental issues by increasing access to licenses over time for both mobile and general vendors, mobile food and general vendors, A phased approach that eventually lifts the arbitrary cap imposed more than forty years ago.
0:16:59
This legislation will bring more vendors into the formal economy and incentivize compliance with the rules New Yorkers actually care about.
0:17:08
Food that is sanitary, streets that are clean and safe, and neighbourhoods where prosperity is shared.
0:17:16
And talking brass tax, the independent budget office estimates that legalising vendors could bring in $59,000,000 in tax revenues, more than triple what the city currently conducts.
0:17:29
I've also proposed amendments to our legislation that would strengthen enforcement in two respects.
0:17:35
First, by increasing the number of sanitation officers as the availability of licences increases, and second, by creating clear standards for how a vendor's licence can be suspended and revoked after persistent violations.
0:17:48
These amendments emerge from ongoing conversations that we have held with just about every side of this issue, vendors themselves, supermarkets, business improvement districts, brick and mortar restaurants, city agencies, my colleagues on the council.
0:18:03
And November 2024 we went a step further, organizing street vendor convenings in partnership with the speakers community engagement division, shout out to y'all.
0:18:12
These conversations, excuse me, were designed to bring a wide range of stakeholders, more than 50, together with the goal of listening to our shared challenges and developing shared solutions.
0:18:23
Thank you all for participating.
0:18:26
And in closing, I'm thrilled that we have this public forum to discuss these issues, to hash out differences, and to work toward a collective solution.
0:18:34
I do believe sincerely that there is a collective solution here, that the gap between positions is bridgeable.
0:18:42
We can't let the momentum end today.
0:18:44
My pledge to you is that together we will find a path forward for vending in New York City.
0:18:50
Thank you so much chair, and thank you to all stakeholders who are here today.