Opinion: Fixing NYC’s street vending chaos is a moral obligation – and a simple one

When immigrant New Yorkers are under attack, doing nothing is not an option. 

Just two weeks ago, after a conservative influencer filmed vendors along Canal Street, ICE agents targeted immigrant street vendors simply trying to earn an honest living. These New Yorkers are working to make a living, to feed their families, and their labor makes our neighborhoods vibrant every single day. 

Today, there are roughly 23,000 street vendors across New York City – but nearly three-quarters operate without a license because of arbitrary caps set decades ago. The result is a fractured system that doesn’t work for anyone: brick-and-mortar businesses are frustrated, vendors live in fear and city agencies are overwhelmed. 

With just 35 enforcement officers for 20,000 complaints a year, enforcement today is ineffective, inconsistent and unfair. Some vendors are heavily targeted and ticketed; others operate without issue. Meanwhile, it is virtually impossible for the vast majority of vendors to get a license, and those licenses that exist are traded on the underground market for tens of thousands of dollars. 

That’s not a system. That’s a failure of government – and it leaves everyone, especially immigrants, vulnerable to scapegoating and exploitation. 

I introduced Intro 431-A because as a city, we can and must do better. This is an amended version of the bill – shaped by months of feedback from stakeholders including small business owners, City Council colleagues, vendors and city agencies.

This bill creates a system that works – one that balances incentives with enforcement, builds dignity for vendors and ensures our limited street space is shared responsibly. 

Here’s what the amended bill does: 

• It creates new licenses for existing vendors, adding 2,000 new food vending licenses and 2,100 general vending licenses each year for the next five years, prioritizing those who’ve been waiting for over a decade and giving them a legal path to operate. 

• At the same time, it requires stricter enforcement against bad actors, requiring the city to focus on the most congested areas and repeat offenders – and it has new provisions that empower agencies to suspend or revoke licenses for serious or repeated violations. 

• It also mandates reporting, so the public can see whether these changes are improving conditions on the ground and whether license access should expand or contract. 

This is the path to harmony: a city that regulates fairly, not sporadically. Critics have said my bill would create a “free-for-all.” I say: the free-for-all is what we have on our streets today, and Intro 431-A fixes it.

This bill creates the tools to regulate street vending the right way: fairly, consistently and with respect. It implements an orderly system that values all small businesses, both the brick and  mortars and the vendors who are the heartbeat of our neighborhoods 

Rules – like keeping 20 feet away from doorways and avoiding congested corridors – can be enforced. And when vendors do not comply, there will finally be consequences that mean something.

By giving vendors a real stake in following the rules, we will protect immigrant workers, improve quality of life and make our city safer for everyone. 

As the daughter and granddaughter of street vendors, I know firsthand that most vendors don’t want chaos. They want to follow the rules – if we give them a fair shot to do so. 

Some will say now isn’t the time for street vending reform. I say there has never been a more urgent time. With only four voting sessions left this year, we cannot afford to miss this moment to finally bring order, dignity and fairness to our streets.  

At a moment when immigrant communities are under direct attack – from ICE raids to inflammatory rhetoric – New York City must model what real inclusion and local leadership look like. Passing Intro 431-A isn’t just about permits and enforcement. It’s about protecting our people, restoring order to our public spaces and reaffirming who we are as a city. 

We can have streets that are cleaner, safer, and fairer – without criminalizing the very people who make New York, New York.

Let’s fix this system with dignity, accountability and the compassion that defines New York. Intro 431-A and the street vending reform package is how we get there.