NYC street vendors would catch a break under new City Council measure

New York City street vendors would no longer face misdemeanor charges and jail for violating the city's vending laws, under a new bill passed by the City Council.

Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, a Democrat from Queens and sponsor of the bill, said the measure will “decriminalize” street vending. The bill, Int. 47, is scheduled to go into effect at the end of December. Mayor Eric Adams has not yet signaled if he plans to sign the measure or veto it.

The measure comes as the NYPD is issuing an increasing number of tickets to street vendors — 9,376 in 2024, up from 4,213 in 2023, according to a recent analysis by City Limits.

It also arises as the Trump administration has ramped up deportations, potentially putting noncompliant street vendors in the crosshairs of immigration enforcement. Nearly all street vendors in New York City, 96%, are immigrants, according to a recent report by the Immigration Research Initiative.

“The City Council is righting the wrongs of the past to ensure that street vendors are being regulated like the small business owners that they are,” said Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director of the Street Vendor Project, a local nonprofit advocacy group that pushed for the bill. “I can’t think of any other small business owner that would have to go to criminal court for having a box on the ground.”

Kaufman-Gutierrez said the bill is especially important for noncitizen vendors, for whom a criminal violation can affect their immigration status. Immigration advocates have pressed policymakers to limit law enforcement interactions with immigrants at risk of being deported.

“No one should face criminal charges or jail time or immigration consequences simply for trying to sell food to support their family or pay their rent,” Krishnan said. He later added: “The urgency right now and the gravity of the threat facing our immigrant communities created a further urgency to get this legislation done.”

Vendors can currently receive a misdemeanor charge, a fine of up to $500, and up to 30 days of jail time for violating many of the city’s vending laws, like operating too far from the curb or using cardboard boxes to display merchandise. Under Int. 47, vendors will only receive civil penalties of up to $250 for these time, place, and manner violations.

When vendors operate without a required license or permit, they can currently receive a misdemeanor charge, a criminal fine between $150 and $1,000, and up to three months of jail time. Under the newly passed bill, those vendors can only be charged with a violation, a lesser non-criminal offense, and receive a fine of up to $1,000.

Only a few thousand permits and licenses currently exist for the estimated 23,000 street vendors doing business across the five boroughs. So the vast majority of vendors are operating unlawfully, without the proper documentation.

“Criminalizing street vendors for simplifying trying to survive wastes City resources and fails to improve public safety,” Rendy Desamours, a spokesperson for the City Council, said in a statement, adding that the Council is proud to have passed the bill, which was a recommendation by the Street Vendor Advisory Board.

Other bills changing the city’s street vending system are pending in the Council, including a measure that would lift the cap on the number of street vending permits and licenses.