Scavenger hunt benefits street food vendors

NEW YORK - MD Alam, the proud owner of Royal Grill Halal Food Cart, sets up shop at the intersection of 44th Street and 6th Avenue every day before the sun even rises. Then the Bangladesh native gets right to work, cooking up fresh food for his customers. Alam has called this busy Midtown Manhattan corner a second home since 2005. However, many patrons who used to line up around the block for his trademark chicken tikka masala have yet to return to their offices.

"Business before was so great, so good. After the pandemic, I opened — there was a ghost house," Alam said. "No money, nobody, no nothing."

The Urban Justice Center's Street Vendor Project has launched a citywide scavenger hunt to help local vendors rebound.

"We wanted to raise awareness about the street vendor community to get New Yorkers to celebrate street vendors across the city and also support our work as an organization," said Mohamed Attia, the managing director of the Street Vendor Project.

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Participants can either register on their own or as a team for just $26. Once the hunt begins, they'll get access to a mobile app to unlock challenges, sample foods, and earn rewards.

So far, the initiative has raised more than $16,000. That money will be donated, in part, to workers like Alam, who didn't qualify for unemployment or pandemic relief. 

"They're looking for a pay stub to give us the loan," Alam said. "But food vendors — they don't have those things." 

It's not too late to join in on the fun. The scavenger hunt runs through Dec. 14.

"Buy your food and support this organization," Alam said. "That's why I'm telling them all, thank you for helping us."