Letter: City, state reps. demand mayor remove NYPD from street vending

2021-07-26T13:08:07-04:00July 23rd, 2021|Press|

Bronx Times

For too long, street vendors have been treated like criminals by police, when in reality these are small businesses run primarily by immigrants, women and people of color, that feed our communities, contribute to the local economy, and enrich the culture of our city. Like other small businesses, vendors have been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are appalled by your decision to send the New York Police Department to harass the hard working entrepreneurs on Fordham Road on Wednesday, July 21,

Queens electeds slam de Blasio’s vendor crackdown

2021-07-26T13:03:23-04:00July 23rd, 2021|Press|

Queens Daily Eagle

“Street vendors have long played an important role in our city, yet a broken vending system has forced most to operate without a license, then criminalized them for trying to make a living,” the Street Vendor Project, who signed onto the letter, tweeted.

Mayor Defends NYPD’s Decision To Eject Unlicensed Street Vendors, Following Sweep In The Bronx

2021-07-26T13:01:29-04:00July 23rd, 2021|Press|

Gothamist

According to the Street Vending Project, active general street vendor permits are capped at 853 for all five boroughs. That number has been in place since the 1980s, and the waiting list is comprised of thousands of prospective vendors. While there is no cap in the number of food vending permits, the only way to obtain a license is through an online course that's made available only in English, effectively cutting out non-English speaking New Yorkers hoping to get a permit.

Hundreds of New City Jail Officers for Rikers Put Detainee Advocates on Guard

2021-07-26T12:51:21-04:00July 11th, 2021|Press|

The City

Sarita Daftary, co-director of Freedom Agenda, an Urban Justice Center project that advocates for decarceration, argued that the high AWOL rate makes it “harder for [the officers] who do show up for work — and of course, dangerous for the incarcerated people who aren’t getting to their court dates, to visits, to medical, to commissary, aren’t getting mail, and all other kinds of human rights abuses.”

N.Y.C. Halts Plan to Move Homeless People From Hotels After Legal Filing

2021-07-11T13:27:09-04:00July 9th, 2021|Press|

New York Times

Helen Strom, the supervisor of benefits and homeless advocacy for the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center... said the people at the hotel who were being wrongfully denied accommodation included women with pulmonary disease, chronic asthma and seizure disorders. “They are right now in flagrant violation of the law,” she said. “The mayor is focused on evicting people from Midtown and wealthy neighborhoods, and he cares about that over people’s safety.”

City Budget Includes Broad Increase in Funding for LGBTQ Initiatives

2021-07-26T12:48:47-04:00July 9th, 2021|Press|

Gay City News

The city is also increasing money intended to support “people involved in the sex trade” by $300,000 to $4.43 million. New funding sources within this program include $100,000 for the Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project, which works to identify immigrant trans survivors of trafficking.

Thousands Being Sent Back to Homeless Shelters in Return to Pre-Pandemic Status Quo

2021-06-30T12:29:32-04:00June 28th, 2021|News, Press|

City Limits

After Ernest contacted advocates from the groups Neighbors Together and the Safety Net Project, a branch of the Urban Justice Center, organizers arrived to halt the move because residents did not receive the 48-hour written notice required by law. Safety Net advocates have made similar visits to shelters elsewhere in the city ahead of abrupt transfers to unknown locations and have distributed Know Your Rights materials to shelter residents.