Alisson Rubio (left) stands beside her mother Liliana Rubio (right) who has been selling arepas in Jackson Heights for nearly 4 years. Liliana Rubio said her “strength” to keep going comes from her three daughters. Photo by Jacqueline Cardenas
A bill passed by the New York City Council will eliminate all criminal penalties for food and general street vendors, overcoming a previous veto by Mayor Eric Adams.
Under Intro-47, vendors cannot receive criminal misdemeanor charges such as serving time in jail for vending violations, though they can still receive civil fines like a ticket.
This bill was passed by the council along with three other bills meant to protect app-based grocery delivery workers known as Intros 1133, 1135 and 20, on Sept. 10.
Those three bills will require: delivery companies to establish a minimum pay rate for workers, companies provide safety equipment for workers and ensure those delivering via bicycle take a safety course.
Intro-47 is part of the more specific Street Vendor Reform Package, a series of bills meant to overhaul the current street vending system for the approximately 23,000 street vendors operating in New York City.
There are around 20,500 mobile food vendors (MFV) and around 2,400 general merchandise vendors (GMV) in the city, according to a recent study by the Street Vendor Project and Immigration Research Initiative.
Seventy-five percent of the MFV are unpermitted while 37% of the GMV are unlicensed, according to the same study.
Previously, street vendors, who are predominantly immigrants, would have to go to criminal court for violations such as operating too close to a curb which would in some cases later impact their immigration status, housing and job opportunities.
In 2024, NYPD issued 1,386 criminal summonses to vendors for various unlicensed vending violations.
Mayor Eric Adams had previously vetoed the Intro-47 bill on July 30th, just hours before his deadline to do so, according to The City.
Adams previously said the bill was “unfair to law-abiding business owners and poses real public health and safety risks.”
This all comes amid the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown through sending National Guard troops to Washington D.C. and threatening cities like Chicago and Memphis.
“As Trump beefs up ICE and deploys the National Guard to our cities, we will stand up for our communities,” said lead sponsor of the bill, Council Member Shekar Krishnan, in a press release. “We will ensure that safeguards are in place so that even if this Mayor, who is beholden to the President, tries to undo them, we stand strong.”
Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, Deputy Director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, said in a statement she is “proud to stand alongside the City Council to uplift the city’s street vendors and delivery workers.”
“We look forward to working with Speaker Adrienne Adams and all Council Members to pass the entire Street Vendor Reform Package, a package of bills that will allow small businesses to grow within a regulated, predictable, and enforceable system,” Kaufman-Gutierrez said.
But even with this new bill, immigrant mothers like Liliana Rubio who has been selling cheese arepas in Jackson Heights for nearly 4 years, still haven’t been able to get a license because of the city’s license cap.
“We were trying to figure it out when we got here because we wanted to do everything legally. There are applications you fill out but in front of us were 8,000 people. We can take turns, but when will it be our turn?” Rubio said in Spanish.
There are only around 6,000 city-issued licenses for food vendors but there are thousands more vendors across the city, according to reports.
Street vendors have been around as early as the 1600s, back when pushcarts sold oysters from New York’s harbor, and just as those people became an integral part of the city’s vibrant social fabric, so has Rubio.
“I like to interact, talk a lot, and on many occasions I have been a trusted person for a lot of people here who do not have anybody to talk to,” the Colombian mother said.
When her regulars come by to buy an arepa, Rubio jokingly said she knows “it’s time for the consultation” where they engage in talking about various interpersonal topics.
“Great friendships have come from here, mostly with customers,” she said.
Despite not being able to get a license and the rise of ICE raids across the country, Rubio said isn’t going to stop vending in order to support her three children.
Everyday I tell myself, “I can do it,” she said. “My daughters most of all, they are always at the forefront. They are my strength.”
The Intro-47 bill will go into effect next March.
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