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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Barbara Blair, President of Garment District Alliance, on Street Vending Legislation
2:17:45
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120 sec
Barbara Blair, President of the Garment District Alliance, testifies against Intro 431, arguing for better regulation of street vending in New York City. She emphasizes the need for enforceable rules that consider the unique needs of different neighborhoods, particularly in congested areas like Midtown Manhattan.
- Blair calls for vending regulations that address time, place, and manner, with ample funding and staffing for enforcement.
- She suggests vendors should be located in the curb line, not on sidewalks, to manage pedestrian and vehicular congestion.
- The testimony criticizes the current lack of enforcement, stating that vendors in her area "act with impunity and shrug off citations."
Barbara Blair
2:17:45
Good morning, chairman and members of the committee.
2:17:48
I'm Barbara Blair.
2:17:49
I'm the president of the Garment District Alliance, a bid in Midtown Manhattan, and I'm here to testify against four thirty one.
2:17:56
The time has come for well grounded legislation which addresses the city's Wild Wild West vending policy.
2:18:02
Despite repeated calls from the community for regulation of this pervasive public realm disorder, the council persists in introducing legislation that allows for more vendors but lacks fundamental guardrails to regulate their activities.
2:18:16
To be clear, we are not against vendors.
2:18:20
In fact, the the issue of how many licenses you wanna give is irrelevant to the Garment District.
2:18:27
What is relevant is regulating time, place, and manner that are enforceable, rules that are enforceable, and are in fact vigorously enforced.
2:18:36
The bill, which adds vendors to the streets but does not specify regulations with ample funding and staffing to enforce them, will only complicate the chaos in our neighborhoods and make rule enforcement more challenging.
2:18:49
It's time to reimagine our communal spaces.
2:18:53
Consider that neighborhoods are different and the midtown vending rules because a pedestrian, bike, vehicular congestion should be different for public safety and quality of life, quality of life reasons.
2:19:05
Vending should be planned in the context of other public realm users such as pedestrians, cafes, emergency vehicles, brick and mortar retail entrances, bike docking, delivery vehicles, EV charging stations, to name a few.
2:19:20
For our part, we request that any vendors be located in the curb line, not on the sidewalk.
2:19:25
The argument the vendors will need to step out into traffic is ridiculous.
2:19:29
All all drivers step out into traffic when they get out of a parked car.
2:19:34
The bill does not address enforcement which should be dramatically more rigorous.
2:19:40
As it currently is, vendors in our area act with impunity and shrug off citations.