A nonprofit is stepping up to help food cart vendors and others who were ousted from Corona Plaza in Queens for operating without licenses.

The Street Vendor Project, an advocacy group that works to advance the rights of street vendors, last month began connecting more than a dozen with other nonprofit organizations and corporations so they can find work in catering.

What You Need To Know

  • The city has been cracking down on unlicensed food cart vendors in and around Corona Plaza

  • Food cart vendors like Narciza Rosario, who has been serving her community Ecuadorian food for almost 25 years, have been out of work for more than two months

  • The Street Vendor Project has been connecting dozens with other nonprofit organizations and corporations so they can find work in catering

  • Rosario recently catered her first event, under Street Vendor Project’s new initiative, bringing her Ecuadorian flavors to Manhattan

The group has already assisted individuals like Narciza Rosario, who told NY1 she enjoys serving her community Ecuadorian food and flavors and has been doing so from her food cart for nearly 25 years.

"In the rain, in the snow, in hot or cold weather, we are always here,” Rosario said.

Rosario and her partner, Jorge Asitimbay, were among vendors who were ousted from Corona Plaza, where enforcement against unpermitted vendors has intensified.

"These days, it’s been very difficult because there’s such heavy enforcement from the Sanitation Department and police against vendors who aren't permit holders,” Rosario said.

She had been renting a black-market permit, paying $25,000 in cash for two years, an illegal arrangement. However, the permit holder who was renting it out to her recently decided to stop.

“It really shows how vulnerable the situation of street vendors in our city is,” said Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director of the Street Vendor Project. “And how much there’s a need for reform for the street vending industry as a whole.”

Rosario has been out of work for more than two months and depends on her children and odd jobs to make ends meet.

"I feel sad because there are many people like me who are in need of a food cart permit,” said Rosario.

However, the Street Vendor Project is reaching out to individuals like Rosario to help them secure legitimate work in other sectors of the food industry.

"They're the top chefs of our city, but sometimes folks wanna grow in different directions,” said Kaufman-Gutierrez. “We support folks to learn about the catering system, to learn about how to cater events, and the different planning and preparation that goes into that and connect them and help them negotiate contracts."

Rosario recently catered her first event under Street Vendor Project’s new initiative, bringing her Ecuadorian flavors to Manhattan. She said she has hope for the future, to grow a small business beyond her cart and to make an impact on the city’s culture.

“It’s good for me and all of the other street vendors,” said Rosario.

Rosario is on a waitlist for a permit, however that can take years because there are thousands of food vendors ahead of her in the line. In December, the City Council introduced a bill that would raise the number of new permits issued each year from 445 to 1,500.