More On:
Andrew Yang
Yang was right the first time: UFT preventing schools from reopening
Yang walks back UFT critique when pressed by union boss
Cuomo tries to spin big tax hikes as ‘net reduction’ IF feds give back SALT
Yang and McGuire are right: Raising taxes is the wrong move
Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Yang on Sunday morning called for a crackdown on unlicensed street vendors.
“You know what I hear over and over again – that NYC is not enforcing rules against unlicensed street vendors,” Yang tweeted just before 10 a.m.
“I’m for increasing licenses but we should do more for the retailers who are paying rent and trying to survive.”
Many local business owners have been complaining about the number of illicit peddlers on the city’s sidewalks.
But street vendor advocates argue the city does not provide enough vending permits to meet the demand, effectively criminalizing thousands of immigrant small businesspeople.
A recent proposal supported by Mayor Bill de Blasio would add 4,000 new sidewalk food permits by 2032, though the plan faces opposition from brick-and-mortar restauranteurs who say it will just increase competition when they’re struggling amid the pandemic.
Yang’s tweet quickly sparked the ire of many online New Yorkers still outraged over the NYPD’s treatment of a churro seller in a viral caught-on-video incident in 2019.
“So what you are saying is you would want to criminalize someones [sic] dear old granny selling churros and curly fries on the platform of Broadway [Junction]?” wrote one commenter — referencing the Nov. 9, 2019 incident in which NYPD cops arrested a woman for selling churros on the Broadway Junction subway station platform.
“These crackdowns make our city worse and needlessly hurt people,” another user replied, with a link to the 2019 tweet that sparked the outrage over “churro lady,” who was seen sobbing through her arrest.
The woman later told reporters the arrest left her feeling “horrible, nervous and stressed.”
“They took everything away from me,” she said at the time.
Sunday’s tweet was not Yang’s first foray into the debate over street vendors. In February, he tweeted that he had heard concerns of Flushing, Queens business owners “about illegal street vendors.”
Yang attempted to clarify his position after Sunday’s initial tweet picked up thousands of critical comments and replies.
“I’d like to bring more unlicensed vendors into the legal market,” he posted.
“Education for immigrant/non English speaking vendors on rules of vending, opening more spaces for legal outdoor vending, working with small businesses to broker tensions all would help.”
The Street Vendor Project advocacy group called Yang’s posts “grossly uninformed.”
“Vendors bring business to commercial corridors, increasing foot traffic and economic growth for all,” the group posted on Twitter.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article