Illegal street vending must not be permitted in New York City, but it’s the job of the federal government to stop the flow of counterfeit goods into the United States — not to round up vendors on the streets of New York.
The issue of illegal street vendors in the Big Apple dates back years, and the NYPD has occasionally raided dealers peddling counterfeit goods. Yet in Chinatown last week, ICE exploited the regularity of the problem to advance its ruthless crackdown, and it is not unfair to say that the operation might not have happened had City Hall done more to stop illegal vending.
The federal government can focus on how illegal counterfeit goods, being sold through black market operations, and stop the flow of these items from entering the United States. However, the city should be solely responsible for regulating street vendors.
City Hall has struggled to change the status quo. An annual street vendor permit cap, which has been in existence for decades, shuts out hundreds of applicants every year. Many of the denied go on to sell without a permit anyway; others spend tens of thousands of dollars in agreements with permit-holders to rent their license, for which the city charges the applicant just $200.
The City Council overrode Mayor Eric Adams’ veto earlier this year of a legislative package aimed at better protecting street vendors from criminal prosecution and reforming wages. The laws, however, do little to protect vendors from potential deportation by the federal government, and reforming wages does not address the greater problem of unpermitted vending in Chinatown, in Ridgewood’s Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues Plaza, and other hubs across the city.
And the effort to reform street vending also does not address the long-standing conflict between curbside vendors who pay minimal operating expenses and traditional brick-and-mortar shops and restaurants whose overhead costs in rent, labor and utilities are exorbitant.
City Hall has to step up now and pass real street vending reform that addresses all of these issues to put a stop to illegal sales and deny ICE agents one excuse to launch a crackdown.
The street vending permit process needs to be revised to reduce or eliminate the permit backlog altogether. Strict guidelines for what permitted vendors can and cannot sell (for example, no counterfeit designer products) and where they can operate must be adopted to avoid conflict with similar brick-and-mortar businesses.
The city must also properly staff its agencies to conduct routine inspections of vendors, ensuring full compliance with the law and shutting down those who violate it.
Street vending has been a part of the city’s economy for generations. It need not disappear into the history books. But it can and must be made legal and safe for all.
A customer is picked up by a rideshare in Manhattan in Aug. 2024.
File Photo by Dean Moses
Rideshare drivers in New York City, like taxi drivers, earn their keep based on how often they work shuttling riders where they need to be. The more they work, the more they earn.
In working for a rideshare outlet like Lyft or Uber, the driver is responsible for proper conduct and following the rules of the road. They earn a percentage of the fares charged. But one bad decision or mistake can put a rideshare driver out of commission indefinitely.
Through a process known as “deactivation,” a rideshare operator can prohibit one of its drivers from taking on work pending further investigation. Deactivation generally occurs when a customer flags the company for bad behavior on the driver’s part — from reckless driving to harassment and other offenses — or for other offenses such as lapsed licenses or registration.
In the eyes of rideshare operators, deactivation is essential to protecting their own interests because they are legally responsible for their drivers’ actions. Sidelining a driver for a 24-hour period to investigate a report of unlawful behavior prevents the driver accused of it from potentially committing a similar offense.
Yet advocates for rideshare drivers, such as the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, argue that the deactivation process is too arbitrary, lacks a proper due process structure, and can put a driver out of commission for days, if not weeks, based on a mere accusation. The consequences of deactivation can be economically devastating.
The City Council is considering a bill to intervene and set new guidelines for rideshare deactivation. Intro. 276, sponsored by Queens Council Member Shekar Krishnan, would establish requirements that rideshare companies provide two weeks’ notice to a potentially deactivated driver. This would, in the bill’s supporters’ minds, offer an ample opportunity for a driver to form a defense to present to their rideshare company and remain on the road.
Rideshare companies are opposed to the bill. Lyft Chief Policy Officer Jerry Golden argued in a Sept. 22 letter to the City Council that it would impede the company’s ability to immediately halt drivers “for repeated unsafe driving, discrimination, or sexual harassment … placing additional riders in harm’s way.”
Both sides in the battle over deactivation have serious merit to their arguments. The rideshare companies must protect themselves and the public from genuinely bad drivers. But the drivers themselves cannot afford surprise suspensions under a “guilty-until-proven-innocent” environment that can cost them their livelihoods.
It is incumbent upon the rideshare companies and the drivers at large to hash out a fair agreement that provides proper protection without resorting to a legislative mandate that tips the scales out of favor, and may put the public at risk.
Instead, the City Council and Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) should facilitate negotiations that bring about a fair deal for all involved.
Hizzoner says ‘neigh’ to horse-drawn carriages in the city.
Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday endorsed legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City. This policy shift follows years of advocacy, public safety concerns, and high-profile animal deaths.
Adams, who also signed an executive order directing agencies to prepare for the industry’s end, called on the City Council to swiftly pass Ryder’s Law, a bill that has languished for more than a year.
The measure would phase out the horse-drawn carriage industry by halting the issuance of new licenses and banning carriage operations entirely starting June 1, 2026.
It also requires that retired horses be placed in humane settings, barring their sale for slaughter or to other carriage businesses. In addition, the bill directs the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to create a workforce development program to help drivers and other employees transition into new jobs.
Executive Order 56 directs city agencies to prepare for the industry’s end, increase oversight and enforcement, create a process for drivers to voluntarily return their licenses, and identify new employment opportunities for workers.
“While horse-drawn carriages have long been an iconic fixture of Central Park, they are increasingly incompatible with the conditions of a modern, heavily-used urban green space,” Adams said in a statement.
“It’s not about eliminating this tradition,” Adams said. “It’s about honoring our traditions in a way that aligns with who we are today.”
Adams emphasized that his administration will work with drivers as the city transitions away from horse carriages. “We will not abandon the drivers themselves, who are honest, hard-working New Yorkers,” he said, noting that the city is considering new programs for electric carriages.
‘Opportunistic and not helpful’
Calls to end the industry have intensified in recent years after a string of high-profile incidents involving carriage horses. In Aug. 2022, a horse named Ryder collapsed in Hell’s Kitchen during a heatwave, sparking outrage from animal advocates. Ryder later died of cancer that October.
Animal rights activists and politicians, including City Council Member Robert Holden, have led the charge to pass the horse’s namesake law since Ryder’s death.
Last month, another horse, Lady, collapsed and died from an aortic rupture near Times Square.
Since Ryder’s now famous collapse, Councilmembers Holden and Erik Botcher have been peddling legislation that would outlaw horse carriages and replace them with electric carriages. Holden argues that the shift would benefit both the animals and the drivers since the promised machines would be able to run year-round and in any temperature.Photo by Dean Moses
Last month, the Central Park Conservancy, for the first time, took sides in the off-again, on-again, years-long controversy between carriage drivers and animal rights supporters by calling on city officials to end horse-drawn carriages in the park.
An ‘absolute disgrace,’ union says
Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents about 200 carriage riders in the city, has long called the proposed ban “outrageous” and a move that would be a “devastating blow” to its members.
TWU Local 100 President John V. Chiarello said Mayor Adams’ backing of the ban was an “absolute disgrace” and a betrayal of working-class New Yorkers.
“It’s disappointing to see Adams, who is polling dead last in the mayor’s race, now abandon hardworking people who make their living taking part in an age-old New York tradition,” Chiarello said.
A spokesperson for the NYC Council said Ryder’s Law is continuing through the legislative process, criticizing Mayor Adams for using the issue for political gain.
“The Council appreciates that this is a difficult and emotional issue for many New Yorkers, which has persisted for decades. Mayor Adams politically using it for his reelection campaign is opportunistic and not helpful,” the spokesperson said.
“Mayor Adams and Randy Mastro have no credibility in the legislative process after the Council was forced to override their vetoes of grocery delivery worker and street vendor bills that their administration had supported,” they added.
Mastro: City Hall ‘meeting the moment’ on industry
Responding to criticism that the mayor’s timing is politically motivated, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro described such claims as “emotional” and said Mayor Adams is merely “meeting the moment” following the series of horrific incidents involving horse-drawn carriages.
“A consensus is developing that there’s a need to act now and to phase out this industry,” Mastro told amNewYork. “So this legislation has been pending for a year or more in the city council. It has 21 co-signers, which means it’s very close to passage, and the mayor hopes that the council will also meet the moment.”
The First Deputy Mayor said that TWU 100’s comments in response to Adams’ announcement used “rhetoric that’s totally uncalled for,” especially since his executive order directs city agencies to “find new jobs for these workers” and to “recognize and compensate those who voluntarily return their licenses.”
Mastro urged council leadership to expedite hearings and a vote, saying the legislation is necessary to legally end the carriage business and ensure a structured transition, saying they have a “moral imperative” to do so.
On the possibility of new roles for current carriage drivers, the First Deputy Mayor suggested that potential opportunities could include roles in a prospective electric carriage industry, city government driving positions, and other jobs involving horses.
“We’re going to respect the workers in this industry. We’re going to respect the licensees in this industry, and we’re going to respect these animals and do right by all of them,” he said.
Amid the criticism, Adams found an unexpected ally in fellow mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and longtime animal rights advocate.
The Republican nominee praised the mayor’s support for Ryder’s Law, calling the horse-drawn carriage industry “cruel and barbaric.”
“Today, for once, I agree with the mayor,” Sliwa said.