Street Vendors To March Brooklyn Bridge In Plea For More Permits

NEW YORK CITY — A cohort of more than 200 street vendors and mariachis are set to march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday in protest of the city's restriction on street vendor permits.

The Thursday march calls for the city to pass Intro 1116, a proposed amendment to local law that expands the availability of food vendor permits, creates an office of street vendor enforcement and establishes a street vendor advisory board.

The march follows arrests in recent years of unpermitted street vendors in subway stations and of others who have been fined up to $500 for vending without a permit.

The city permits roughly 4,000 mobile food vending permits a year, a number the Urban Justice Center says is arbitrary and harmful, leaving some vendors on waiting lists as long as 20 years and others turning to illegal means and paying exorbitant prices to make ends meet.

In a news release, the Urban Justice Center said some vendors are known to pay up to $25,000 for permits sold in an underground market while others continue selling food without permits.

The group also alleges the city's 'Open Restaurants' and 'Open Storefront' initiatives are hypocritical and unjust, allowing 10,000 restaurants to serve food on the streets while vendors struggle.

Related: Brooklyn Stands Behind Churro Vendor Handcuffed In Viral Video

City data shows Intro 1116 is currently laid over in the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing.

On Thursday, vendors are set to gather at Korean War Veterans Plaza at 11:30 a.m. before marching across the Brooklyn Bridge. At 1 p.m., they will hold a news conference at the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building.

In a release, the Urban Justice Center says street vendors are essential workers who helped ensure the NYC neighborhoods hit hardest by the virus had access to fresh food throughout the pandemic.

In 2015, a study from the Institute for Justice found they paid an estimated $71 million in taxes, contributed $293 million to the local economy and supported nearly 18,000 jobs in the city.