Friend,

At the end of last month, subway fruit vendor María Falcon was arrested at the Broadway Junction subway stop. She was detained for 2 hours and strip-searched before having her cart confiscated and being issued a citation – all for selling mangoes. 

Street vendors are part of the fabric of New York City culture and provide an opportunity for many immigrants to own small businesses and thrive in this city. The street vendors in Jackson Heights provide our district with delicious foods and highlight the incredible cultural diversity we have within our district. Unfortunately, the current system makes it nearly impossible to get permits and criminalizes hard-working business owners.

We need #PermitsNotTickets, such as provided in ​​S6817A, my bill that would create a regulation program for street vendors. This bill would eliminate the cap on licenses to vend in the city, allowing more vendors to legally sell their goods. It would also establish regulations and rules around vending, create tax revenue for the state, provide proper training to all vendors and overturn any previous convictions for vending illegally. 

Formalizing street vending and bringing these small businesses into our economy will help many immigrant communities like ours recover from lost wages during the pandemic and provide New Yorkers with a needed service. We should not criminalize hard-working people who are doing their best to support their families. 

Let’s give our neighbors the opportunity to thrive, not create barriers that criminalize hard work!

In Solidarity,

Jessica Ramos