Sear's Protest

WORKERS PROTEST ANTI-worker REMARK BY COUNCIL MEMBER SEARS AND JACKSON HEIGHTS BEAUTIFICATION GROUP (JULY 16, 2009)

(continued) and provides diverse low cost food and products to the Jackson Heights community. Council Members Sears’s bill (Intro. 34) would eliminate vending from 72 Street to 82 Street from 35th Ave. to 37th Avenue, and from 72 Street to 78 Street from Roosevelt Ave. to 37th Ave.

At the root of the problem lies the city’s reluctance to increase the number of food cart permits and general merchandise. Caps placed 30 years ago have not increased and keep the numbers at 3,100 carts and 853 general merchandise licenses for the entire city of New York. For years street vendors have been forced to sell without a cart permit and receive an automatic $1000 summons by police and the Department of Health. This is extremely hurtful to street vendors, when their average income is $50 per day.

Aminta, a elderly vendor that sells fruit vendor in Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights described how “police treated me like an animal. They poured all my sauces and lemon juice all over my fruits that I had prepared to sell ruining them, they took my wood cart I had worked so hard to get built. They even took the food I was eating and threw it in the garbage.” Aminta was also given $1,800.00 worth in fines for that incident, her daily income is $30.00. “This is an outrage how the city, the police, and the Department of Health work together to keep us, working community people, from making a living.” Aminta adds “We need to work, let us work!”

VAMOS Unidos’s asks the community to call their council members and tell them to support legislation to increase the caps such as Intro. 324. Also to call Council Member Sears and Koppel to tell them to retract Intro. 35 which would eliminate street vending in Jackson Heights.

Click on links to see coverage after the protest:

Daily News - Her Hard-Sell Stance Riling Boro Vendors
Queens Examiner - Street Vendors: don’t kick us out to the curb
Queen Chronicle - Immigrants Wary of Vendor Summit