Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Discussion on current vending system and potential impact of Intro 431
1:59:21
·
161 sec
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 6:42:41
Loaded: 0%
0:00:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -6:42:41
Â
1x
- Chapters
- descriptions off, selected
- captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
- captions off, selected
- Default, selected
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
End of dialog window.
Council Member Sanchez inquires about the current vending system's issues and how Intro 431 might address them. Mohamed Attia from the Street Vendor Project explains the challenges vendors face in complying with the law due to license limitations and lack of education.
- Attia highlights that 75% of food vendors and 37% of merchandise vendors operate without proper permits.
- He emphasizes that Intro 431 would create a mechanism for vendors to obtain proper licenses and receive training.
- Attia argues that the current enforcement system is unfair and ineffective, targeting even those who comply with most regulations but lack official documentation.
Pierina Sanchez
1:59:21
Thank you chair.
1:59:23
In your view and specifically for SVP, why has there been a rollout a slow actually let me let me just skip to this one.
1:59:35
We have a number of vendors who are licensed but still actually let me sorry, sorry.
1:59:41
Let me clarify this one.
1:59:44
There are vendors across the city who do follow the rules and don't follow the rules.
1:59:48
What is your position on how Intro four thirty one can address this situation?
1:59:53
And finally, in this era of heightened federal immigration enforcement, what have you seen on the ground and what are you hearing from vendors?
Mohamed Attia
2:00:04
Sure.
2:00:04
So as of now, we know that the city is not creating any incentive for vendors to be in compliance with the law.
2:00:13
As we said over and over again, the vendors are not allowed to obtain the proper business license.
2:00:19
There is no one doing street outreach to educate the vendors on the law.
2:00:23
And as a result, vendors are out there breaking the law, trying to be in compliance with the law, but they're not allowed to.
2:00:30
We heard from the sanitation they go out and give the twenty four hour warning.
2:00:35
That notice is not education.
2:00:37
It says you are in violation of some of the rules.
2:00:40
Here are three bullet points that you might be breaking.
2:00:43
Some of them do not apply to most vendors who sell food.
2:00:47
However, that's the only education that the city is doing.
2:00:50
So what we believe this bill will do is will create a mechanism where vendors are obtaining the proper business license, getting the training after the passage of four zero eight, and making sure that they understand the laws, they are in compliance, and they are following them.
2:01:05
After that, any enforcement action will only be fair.
2:01:08
Right now, what we're seeing is that the whole enforcement mechanism is not working.
2:01:13
The whole enforcement system is so unfair.
2:01:15
It's going after vendors, including the good apples, including those who are in compliance with 99% of the law, but they don't have that piece of document from the city that says a license on it.
2:01:26
We heard also from DCWP, they issue an average one ten licenses every year.
2:01:32
It's gonna take us ninety five years to go over the existing waiting list.
2:01:37
10,500 names, ninety five years.
2:01:40
Meet me next century.
2:01:42
Brother Calvin here is not on the waiting list.
2:01:44
He doesn't have a chance to get a license, yet he's been a vendor for more than twenty years.
2:01:50
Where is Calvin in the equation?
2:01:52
Where is Calvin in the thinking of the city?
2:01:55
The system is failing everyone.
2:01:56
It's not only failing vendors.
2:01:58
It's failing the entire economy of the city.
2:02:01
I hope that answers your question, council member.