Street Vendors in NYC
Throughout the interview and our experience in the streets, we learned that these people endure many injustices, harsh treatments and even neglect from the different kinds of authorities when they want any kind of change to happen. This was when we researched and found out that the Street Vendor Project has become an initiative in which these dedicated entrepreneurs have a space to voice their opinions and hopefully/eventually correct the social and economic injustices they are currently forced to deal with. This project provides this venue for these workers by holding clinics to educate them about their legal rights. They organize vendors to participate in the political process that determines, a lot of the times, their fate. In addition to this, they also engage in advocacy to help policy makers and the public understand the important role street vendors play in the life of, not only the economy, but also of our city. Overall, this project, which is part of the Urban Justice Center (an association that serves NYC’s most vulnerable residents by providing them legal services, advocacy, and general education about anything they desire to know more about) seeks to bring all of these hard working men and women together to create a movement for permanent change. They’re simply demanding more power and more respect. The reason being for these agencies is that they feel like they must defend the rights of those “who are overlooked or turned away by other organization”. After learning the truths behind this job, I learned that, even though I’ve complained about their presence at times, I can now truly appreciate the things they do for this city. It is not easy an easy job and actually standing up for so many hours doesn’t make it any better/more bearable.
