Police are cracking down on the sidewalk vendors who sell handbags and other accessories on the streets of New York City but the vendors are fighting back.
Earlier this week, angry vendors gathered in City Hall Park protesting the number of tickets and fines that are levied against them. According to statistics of the Urban Justice League Center, the average street vendor who sells handbags and other goods on the streets of New York support an average of 4 other people and make from $7,000 to $15,000 per year. Fines average about $433 per vendor per year.
One street vendor at the rally stated that he has received as many as 5 tickets at once with fines ranging from $50 for a first ticket to $1,000 for a sixth violation.
Vendors state that if they are not 20 feet from a storefront they will receive a ticket but they also are ticketed if they are 20 feet from a crosswalk. According to James Dickens, who sells handbags on the street, "I feel like we are being harassed".
It will be interesting to see if the protest causes any changes in policy for the police of New York. The mayor supports ticketing because he feels that it helps get the point across that the law must be obeyed. The Urban Justice Center will continue to monitor the situation and support the street vendors.
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