Street Vendors Celebrate Bill to Reduce Criminal Liability

On Monday, June 30th, New York City Council passed Intro 47 by a vote of 40-8, a veto-proof supermajority, ensuring New York City’s smallest businesses cannot receive criminal misdemeanor penalties for street vending. Intro 47 is a part of the Street Vendor Reform package, a package of bills that will allow small businesses to grow within a regulated, predictable, and enforceable system.

Intro 47’s passage comes at a time when New Yorkers have called on the City Council to take action to increase protections for vulnerable immigrant street vendors amid a skyrocketing number of both criminal and civil summonses. Critically, Intro 47 reduces the criminal misdemeanor for vending violations related to time, place, and manner to purely civil penalties. Additionally, for violations related to vending without a license, the legislation reduces the criminal misdemeanor to a criminal violation and a fine or civil penalty.

“From the tamaleras of Sunset Park to the souvenir vendors of Times Square, street vendors fold our city’s unrivaled diversity into our streets and sidewalks and represent the heart of our economy. The Trump administration has increased fear for immigrants within our communities who they are targeting, making the heightened criminalization and intimidation of street vendors in NYC all the more alarming. We applaud City Council’s decision to repeal criminal liability for street vending, a critical step towards achieving an equitable system for our city’s smallest businesses. We expect the Adams administration to fully implement the intent of the law by only issuing civil summonses to street vendors moving forward, regardless of licensing status. We look forward to continuing to work with City Council to pass the full Street Vendor Reform Package to ensure justice, dignity, and opportunity for the vendors who help make our City thrive,” said Mohamed Attia, Managing Director, Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center.

“No vendor should face criminalization because of a broken vending system. With Donald Trump’s growing attacks on immigrants, passing Int. 47 is more important than ever to protect our immigrant street vendors. I am proud that the City Council has passed this important legislation. Street Vendors are our city’s smallest businesses, and my bill takes action to make sure unlicensed vending does not mean jail time and a criminal misdemeanor. This bill is one step of many reforms we must make to end our city’s broken vending system” said Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, lead sponsor of Intro 47.

“This bill is a strong assertion that NYC values its small business owners over criminalization. With over 20,000 vendors, 96% of whom are immigrants, facing misdemeanors for minor infractions, Intro 47 swaps unjust criminal penalties for civil enforcement, protecting livelihoods and communities. I’m proud to co-prime sponsor this vital reform, paving the way for the full Street Vendor Reform Package and reinforcing our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and equity” said NYC Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías.

“While our immigrant neighbors face cruel attacks from the federal government, today the City Council has taken a critical step to protect those most at risk” said NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez. “More than 95 percent of street vendors are immigrants, who represent our city’s smallest businesses. As a daughter and granddaughter of street vendors, I understand their struggle and know that no one should face jail time for simply trying to make a living. By eliminating misdemeanor criminal penalties for vending, Int. 47 allows vendors to continue providing for their families without this fear. But there is more work to be done, particularly for unlicensed vendors, who will still face criminal consequences. This is why it is critical that we pass Int. 431, co-sponsored by Majority Leader Farias, and the full Street Vending Reform package. Together, we can provide comprehensive solutions to a broken system: where access to licenses is fair, enforcement is effective, our public spaces are shared, and businesses of all shapes and sizes can thrive.”

“Nearly half of New York City’s small businesses are immigrant-owned, 96 percent of street vendors are immigrants. Yet for too long, street vendors, who keep our city running with their labor, have faced unjust criminalization simply for trying to make a living. Intro 47 is a critical step towards correcting this historic inequality. By replacing harmful misdemeanor penalties with civil fines, Intro 47 ensures that street vendors can work without fear of arrest and family separation. We thank the NYC Council for the passage of this bill that reflects the fair and inclusive economy that we aim to build, one that works for everyone who calls New York City home.” said Vladimir Tlali, Senior Policy Strategist at the New York Immigration Coalition.

“New York City’s street vendors feed our stomachs, souls, and public spaces everyday; they deserve to be treated like the invaluable members of our community that they are. We are celebrating that this bill has passed as a crucial first step in decriminalizing vending and giving these hardworking New Yorkers the tools they need to succeed like every other business owner,” said Jackson Chabot, Director of Advocacy and Organizing at Open Plans.

“The passage of Intro 47 is cause for celebration. The cudgel of criminal penalties never served vendors or the city. Instead, it only served to further unduly punish and endanger our city’s smallest business owners, already navigating a broken system. Vending is a civil matter and should be treated as such. JFREJ looks forward to continuing its work with the Street Vendor Justice Coalition to ensure we pass the rest of the Vending Reform Package” and Josh Bloom, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice.

“The passage of Intro 47 marks a critical step toward fair and equitable treatment of street vendors—recognizing them as the small business owners they are and advancing the well-being of New York’s families, communities, and local economy. Street vendors should not be criminalized for being a few inches too close to a crosswalk or for placing a box on the ground. ANHD will continue to work with the Street Vendor Project, the United for Small Business NYC coalition, and all of our members to make sure that small businesses – including vendors – can thrive in our communities” said Emily Goldstein, Director of Organizing & Advocacy, Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD).

“The decriminalization of our immigrant communities is urgent in today’s political climate. Voces Ciudadanas is proud to support the street vendors of Sunset Park and across New York City who have long demanded justice. With the passage of Intro 47, New York City is taking an important step by removing the threat of misdemeanor charges for unlicensed vendors. We celebrate the passing of Intro 47, but this is not enough. This does not fix the current broken system that continues to impact the lives of many immigrants. We urge the City Council to go further and pass the full Street Vendor Reform Package to create a fair, inclusive system that truly reflects New York’s identity as a city built by immigrants” said Valeria Paz Reyes, Director of Advocacy, Voces Ciudadanas Inc.

“The Arab American Association of New York welcomes the passage of Intro 47, which would remove all misdemeanor criminal penalties for general vendors and mobile food vendors. For far too long, our community members have been criminalized, met with police brutality, and had their means of making ends meet dumped, and they were deemed as criminals for extreme standards for vending. Our street vendors deserve to be treated with respect and feel safe working and making ends meet, and intro 47 is the correct first step in making that possible” said Maryam Khaldi, Director of Programs, Arab American Association of New York.

Approximately 23,000 street vendors—majority immigrants, people of color, military veterans and women—work as small business owners supplying food and other goods across New York City. Despite contributing millions of dollars annually to the city’s economy, most of these vendors are blocked from acquiring permits for their business due to an arbitrary, decades-old cap on the number of licenses and permits in circulation. Recent reporting reveals that only one-quarter of mobile food vendors have been able to secure a permit for their business and women vendors are especially likely to be blocked from obtaining a license. When forced to make their living without formal recognition, vendors are not only less likely to make enough profit to sustain their livelihood, they are subject to fines, harassment, police raids and violence, and property confiscation, with little opportunity for recourse.

The ‘Street Vendor Reform’ platform includes the top five top needs of NYC’s smallest businesses: (1) Intro 431: ensure all vendors can access licenses (2) Intro 47: repeal criminal liability for vendors (3) Intro 408: create a division of NYC Small Business Services with educational services for street vendors (4) Intro 24: open more legal vending locations (5) Intro 1251: ensure licenses are issued in accordance with the law each year. It is supported by the NYC Street Vendor Justice Coalition, a group of organizations representing small businesses, public space, labor and immigrant rights advocates including the Arab American Association of New York, Open Plans, United for Small Business, the New York Immigration Coalition, and the Street Vendor Project, who advocate for a fair vending system in NYC, one that treats our city’s smallest businesses with dignity.