The Reality of Illegal Street Vending: Insights from My NYC Council Internship
In the years following the economic decline brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of illegal street vendors have emerged in New York City. Their ubiquity has contributed to the cultural diversity that the city is renowned for, but the lack of regulation of these vendors has generated sanitation, safety, and civil issues. In light of this, the New York City Council is struggling to find a solution that both promotes public safety and supports those whose unfortunate circumstances have compelled them to turn to street vending as a final resort.
My internship at a New York City Council Member's Office this past summer provided me with insights into the day-to-day plights faced by New Yorkers around the borough. Every day, I engaged in compelling conversations with my supervisors, and they informed me of the projects the office was undertaking, such as addressing inaccessibility to low-income housing, pushing legislation regarding retiree health care, and maintaining community cleanliness. Additionally, I would sift through constituent emails and letters, answer phone calls, and greet walk-ins, and I would listen with an open mind to the topics that were of great importance to the residents of the neighborhood.
The experience exposed me to a series of raw, varying, and contrasting perspectives in a way I had never witnessed before. In this new light, what appeared to be one "case" was almost always symptomatic of a far-reaching, multidimensional issue.
One topic that exemplifies this quality is the rise of illegal street vending in NYC.
When millions of jobs were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, many families struggled to make ends meet. In the wake of this difficult and frightening time, the government provided support for its citizens in the form of stimulus checks.
However, at this time, there was a large population of unregistered Hispanic immigrants living in the United States who were ineligible for government support. When declining unemployment rates hit the nation, thousands of these people, many of whom could not speak English, turned to street vending to stay afloat. Between this and the consistent flow of immigrants from the Southern border, the number of illegal street vendors has grown exponentially in the past three years.
New York City is only able to distribute a few thousand vendor permits, so hundreds of these street vendors are unregistered and, therefore, unregulated. For regulated vendors, there are rules outlining how and where they can operate, but there are no such guidelines for unregulated vendors. As a result, illegal vendors are congregating in squares and on sidewalks, blocking walkways and dumping trash, oil, and propane tanks indiscriminately. Brick-and-mortar businesses are struggling to compete because illegal vendors don’t have to abide by the same rules that registered sellers do.
My supervisor told me a story about an electronics store that was forced to go to court because of a misunderstanding with an illegal street vendor. A street vendor set up in front of the electronics store, selling the same products the store was selling, such as headphones and chargers. Passerbys began purchasing products from the vendor because they were cheaper, so the store’s profit dwindled. Additionally, several people assumed that the vendor was an extension of the electronics store, so when one of the products they bought from the street vendor malfunctioned and caught on fire, the consumer who purchased it filed a lawsuit against the store and not the street vendor.
I thought of how unfair it was for a legitimate business to have to compete with an entity that was not being held accountable to the same restrictions and standards that the electronics store was and to be taken to court for a misconstruction that, with the proper regulation, would never have been possible. But then I considered the circumstances of the store-owners life that enabled them to legitimize their business, which so many illegal vendors do not have: English fluency, access to information, and, of course, a permit. Hundreds of stories such as this one are the reason residents of New York City want change. Every day they are struck, like I was, by the injustice faced on all sides, preventing people from pursuing financial success and stability.
With all these factors in mind, New York City politicians have been divided on how to address this topic. Some maintain that street vending should be prohibited completely, while others feel that that would be discriminatory, given that the vast majority of illegal vendors are of Hispanic heritage.
While I understand both sides, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. New York City should distribute more permits and register these vendors so that they can operate safely and fairly. I also believe they should make free English fluency and financial literacy classes more accessible.
Every day, on my way home from the office, I would buy a refreshing cup of sliced mango, an ice cream cone, or a bowl of Guatemalan carne guisado. I appreciated the easy accessibility, affordability, and cultural value of the experience, which was only possible because of street vendors. Street vendors are the fabric of life in inner cities, but to ignore the consequences of the lack of regulation would be an injustice to consumers, registered business owners, and street vendors.
Rachele Bifulco is a senior at Saint Vincent Ferrer High School in New York. There, she serves as student body vice president and captain of the varsity volleyball team. In her free time, Rachele enjoys reading and studying Italian.