"New York Abstract, Street Vendor Breakfast" by DW Labs

In the readings “The Good Old Days of Poverty: Merchants and the Battle Over Pushcart Peddling on the Lower East Side” by Suzanne Wasserman and “Push-Cart Lane” by Jefferson Machamer, we can see that people had mixed opinions when it came to the push-carts. On one hand there are those like the merchants and LaGuardia who thought the push-carts were a “public nuisance as well as a source of personal embarrassment”. They saw the selling of “cheap merchandise or foodstuffs” as a hindrance to the more upscale society that they wanted to achieve. Then there were others who liked the push-carts because they were conveniently located and sold items at prices that were more affordable to them. Almost a century later, people are more open and willing to try things from push-carts, but like in the past, people still have mixed feelings. There are people who think food from push-carts are unsanitary and would rather starve than purchase food from one. There are people who think it’s degrading to buy food and eat it as they walk because it’s embarrassing. Then there are others who think push-carts are lifesavers (like me), because there’s one located at every corner. When I’m in a rush to get to school or work, I don’t have time to wait in line inside a store for my coffee or bagel. I go for the nearest street vendor (which are like the push-carts of today).