Vendors rally to demand accessible vendor licenses and permits after DSNY crackdowns
The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says there’s 853 total spots of general vendor permits.
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Street vendors took to the streets of lower Manhattan – not to make sales, but to demand more access to licenses and permits after recent crackdowns.
News 12 captured exclusive footage of police from the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) sweeping up illegal vendor stands and handing out fines.
MORE: Sanitation police ticket, confiscate products from vendors in the Bronx
Floriberto Diaz is a vendor on Fordham Road who sells tamales – and has been hit hard by some of these crackdowns. He says he’s received two tickets worth $1,000 each and $6,000 in total fines since Dec. 27.
“I came 30 years ago to get a license and when I came in the door, they told me the list is just so long, don’t even apply,” said merchandise vendor Calvin Baker.
The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says there’s 853 total spots of general vendor permits – and 11,000 people are currently on the waiting list for the one or two spots that open every year.
MORE: Street vendors see uptick in summonses on Fordham Road
These vendors tell News 12 they hope that the city makes the proper changes to allow vendors to get licensing to operate their businesses legally.
