Street vendors march in NYC, ask for passage of new laws

NEW YORK -- More than 600 street vendors marched from Union Square to City Hall on Thursday demanding action from the City Council.

Vendors are fighting for four pieces of legislation they say will allow them to provide the services New Yorkers want and give them the chance to earn a livable wage.

Nearly 20,000 entrepreneurs, the majority of whom are immigrants, people of color, veterans, and women, are employed as street vendors in New York City, according to the Street Vendor Project organization.

However, the lack of education about the dos and don'ts of vending and the inability to obtain a license are the biggest hurdles vendors say they face, obstacles that have sometimes led to chaos on city sidewalks .

"We're not criminals. We're New Yorkers trying to bring money and a meal to the table," Guadeloupe Sosa said.

What the street vendors want from New York City

The cap on general vendor licenses the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection issues to non-veterans is limited by law to 853. One of the four bills that is part of the street vendor reform platform would increase that number. Councilmember Pierina Sanchez is leading the charge.

"There are people who want to do the right thing, but there's no access to licenses," Sanchez said.

"I haven't been able to get a permit or a license because every time we go, they tell us the waitlist ... when we go join the waitlist, there's a freeze," Sosa said.

According to the DCPW, the waiting list for vendor licenses is currently closed and will not reopen until agency has run through the current list of applicants .

Vendors say they're desperate for a new system

Sanchez said all four bills are designed to provide a regulated, predictable, and enforceable street vending system, a system she and vendors say they're desperate for.

"If we expand the availability of licenses, expand education, and then also increase enforcement, doing these things in tandem can give us order on our street," Sanchez said.

"We're asking City Council to step in and answer these bills we have laying on their desk," street vendor Calvin Baker added.