Flushing’s repeat offenders vendors face fines

The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection confiscated the wares of two unlicensed street vendors near Main street in Flushing Tuesday. Photo via Ung/DCWP

By Rachel Vick

The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection stepped in earlier this week to enforce regulations against unlicensed street vending in Flushing.

DCWP, which handles the oversight of vending, confiscated the goods of repeat offenders during the targeted visit to the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue on Tuesday.

“The City has engaged in extensive outreach and education efforts but unlicensed vending has continually increased, creating not only a quality-of-life issue, but also a serious public safety concern,” said Council Member Sandra Ung. “The intent was not to punish these vendors, but rather to ensure the sidewalks in Flushing are – and remain – clear and safe for all.”

Two vendors who had failed to come into compliance with DCWP regulations had their goods confiscated, and a number of others packed up voluntarily. able to reclaim their confiscated goods at the 109th Precinct.

The agency said enforcement was necessary due to repeated refusals to come into compliance, and to “best balance the needs of the community.”

“Vending is a complicated issue that touches all of us—from the vendors themselves to local businesses to residents and visitors,” a DCWP spokesperson told the Eagle. “Flushing in particular is a vibrant and bustling area where there is a lot of competition for the sidewalk and unfortunately an area where we have seen significant and repeated noncompliance.”

The action was celebrated by a number of local leaders including Community Board 7 Chair Gene Kelty and heads of local business groups who say the vendors take business away from stores. Other criticisms cite quality of life issues like trash pile ups and risks to pedestrians in the third busiest intersection in the city.

“The explosion in street vendors on Main Street has had a dramatic and negative impact on this burgeoning commercial area,” said Peter Tu, Senior Advisor for the Flushing Chinese Business Association. “Generating large amounts of garbage, creating extreme congestion on our sidewalks and making it difficult for law-abiding small businesses to compete with unlicensed vendors who do not follow health and safety regulations or pay taxes.

Since last June, DCWP has conducted over 1,100 inspections in Flushing. Of the 720 vendors DCWP inspectors have instructed to stop vending or correct violations, 695 have complied.

Advocates from the Street Vendor project say that enforcement and confiscation was an “excessive” measure against individuals looking to make a living, suggesting opening a dialogue between lawmakers, law enforcement and vendors.

"There is no question that public safety and pedestrian friendly sidewalks are crucial for Downtown Flushing and the city as whole,” said Mohamed Attia, managing director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center. “We ask that community leaders meet with the vendors - their neighbors - and share their concerns, and work together to develop solutions.”

“At the end of the day, our city's smallest business deserve to make a living with dignity,” Attia added, “and should get the support they need from the city instead of fines, closures, and property confiscation.”