A right to vend : new policy framework for fostering street based entrepreneurs in New York City

Abstract

Street vending remains one of the most highly regulated and least understood activities in New York City. The current regulatory framework is overly confusing and complex, leaving policy decisions about who gets to vend and where to the discretion of private interests represented by Business Improvement Districts. There is an estimated ten to twelve thousand street vendors today of which half operate outside any regulatory framework. A historical analysis of street vending policies in New York City reveals a legacy of political and social biases that have influenced contemporary regulatory framework toward vending. Exploratory case studies in Sunset Park and Midtown Community Court illustrate new strategies that are being used today by a Business Improvement District and a criminal justice institution to address vending problem at its root causes. Such strategies break away from traditional prescriptions that focused largely on punitive enforcement measures. A new policy framework for regulating street vending should break the legacy of bias and create a transparent decision making environment that recognizes street vending a right to economic livelihood. Such vending policies should also remain flexible to the nuance of neighborhood scale and need.