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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Walid Salama, Street Vendor
4:21:34
·
87 sec
Walid Salama, a street vendor for 25 years, testifies in support of bills Intro 431 and Intro 408. He describes the financial challenges of working without a permit, including high rental costs and the misconception that vendors pocket all their earnings. Salama also highlights the issue of excessive violations in recent years.
- Salama has been working without a permit for 25 years, hoping to obtain one
- He reports spending $15,000 to $20,000 every two years on permit rentals
- In the past two years, Salama claims to have received violations equal to 23 years of work
Walid Salama
4:21:34
Good afternoon.
4:21:35
My name is Walid Salama.
4:21:36
I have been working as a state vendor for the past twenty five years.
4:21:41
I live in Borough Of Brooklyn, and I work in Manhattan.
4:21:45
I came here today to support the pass of the bill, to support the street vendors for bill of $4.31 and $4.00 8.
4:21:59
I have been working since the year of February until now.
4:22:03
I don't have a permit until today.
4:22:05
I have been working and I have been hoping to have the opportunity to get like a permit.
4:22:14
It apparently costs us about $15,000 to $20,000 every two years, which is an average of $10,000 This money costs us to also add the cost of the food.
4:22:30
And when customers look at us, they think that we collect all of this money into our pockets.
4:22:36
However, that affects everything else, including the merchandise and the renting of the permit.
4:22:45
The second thing I wanted to add is the violation that we get.
4:22:49
We have been getting the past two years I've been working as a street vendor for the past twenty five years.
4:22:54
In the past two years only, I got violations that would equal to twenty three years of work.
4:23:00
Thank you so much.