Hundreds of street vendors rallied at Union Square Thursday demanding action on a package of bills in the City Council called the "street vendor reform platform.” 

“We suffer [from] anxiety," Guadalupe Sosa, a street vendor, said. 

The package includes better access to legal permits, reducing criminal liabilities for vendors, services and support for the street vendor community and reforming parking rules that make it difficult for vendors to work.

What You Need To Know

  • Street vendors rallied at Union Square and made their way to City Hall Thursday, calling on the City Council to take action on legislation

  • The package of bills includes better access to legal permits, reducing criminal liabilities for vendors, services and support for the street vendors community and reforming parking rules that make it difficult for vendors to work

  • The city’s Department of Health reports there are currently more than 7,600 vendors waiting for permits to sell food. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says there are about 11,000 people waiting for permits to sell items other than food

Sosa’s mom started the family snow cone business more than 20 years ago.

“Our problem is that if you don’t have a license, you get a ticket, but then again, there's no place where you can go get a license,” Sosa said.

Organizers said street vendors from aross all five boroughs particpated in the rally and around 800 people signed up for a license. Some people have waited decades to get a license.

Sosa said she’s been waiting a quarter-century for a legal permit from the city, and on many days, has to stop selling just to avoid getting tickets.

“I have not gotten tickets, because when they tell me that the police [are] around, I’d rather leave than [get] caught,” Sosa said.

Mohammed Attia was a vendor for a decade, and is now the managing director of the Street Vendor Project.

“The vending system has been set up for many decades, baiscally criminalizing the street vending community, making their jobs and businesses difficult to run,” Attia said.

In 2021, the City Council passed a law creating nearly 4,500 new food vendor permits to be distributed over a decade. Vendor advocates say as of May, fewer than 130 of the close to 900 new permits have been received.

A City Hall spokesperson released a statement saying: “Our goal is to balance the needs of vendors, brick-and-mortar stores, and of everyday New Yorkers by getting unsafe and obstructive items off our sidewalks as we keep our neighborhoods clean and accessible to all.”

Sosa knows the city has also stepped up enforcement of existing regulations, but is still hopeful.

“That we can [be] recognized as small businesses, because we are small businesses,” Sosa said.

All the bills were introduced in February, but still need to get passed out of committee before they could come for a vote before the full City Council.