Voice of the Vendor

Sean Basinski, founder of the Street Vendor

Project, can be called the voice of the vendors.

According to Basinski, New York City has

approximately 10,000 street vendors. The

explosion of street vendors in New York has not

gone unnoticed, especially by the police who

work to protect the business of retailers.

Basinski started his project in 2001 to protect the rights of these street employees.

There are four types of vendors in the city, three of which are food, merchandise, and books/art. Because the First Amendment protects freedom of expression, it is not necessary to have a license to sell books or art. Then there is the fourth group: the unlicensed vendors. The majority of street vendors are immigrants, looking to make a living just like anyone else who comes to this city.

But in recent years, according to Basinksi, it has become “virtually impossible” to get a merchandise license. As a result, many street sellers have no permit at all, or they have purchased one on the black market (a costly investment at $8,000 for a two-year fake permit). “You gotta be able to run if you’re unlicensed because the police will chase after you,” Basinski says.

And in the rare event that a vendor does obtain a permit, there is a laundry list of other rules he or she has to abide by in order to avoid a ticket. You must be 20 feet away from a building entrance, 10 feet from a crosswalk, and 18 inches from a curb. A ticket starts out at $50 but can quickly increase to $1,000.

Basinksi, a former cart burrito salesman himself, as well as a former Wall Street employee, has a few simple goals with his Project: to make permits more accessible, free up streets for vendors to sell on, reduce fines and reduce police harassment. Most vendors are immigrants or veterans who need to support families, pay taxes and buy legitimate permits. Basinski hopes to educate the police and unite the vendors. He believes that, “if vendors are strong and organized, there’s no say in what we can do.”