February 16th
2:37 PM EST

7 notes

$Street vendor says tickets from NYPD are unfair; ‘I was treated better when I sold drugs’One of the street vendors I work with got an op-ed placed in the Daily News today. The headline is wow but it’s an important read! Check it out here. They can always find some reason to give me tickets. It seems to me that I am seen as little more than a nuisance to those who patrol our streets … And it’s not only me they harass. Last year, the city gave more than 26,000 tickets to the hardworking vendors of New York City. Most are for minor infractions, like placing your table too far from the curb. The price of these tickets can reach as high as $1,000. Many vendors, who may rely on purchases of less than $5, can’t pay such a penalty, so they lose their licenses.$

Street vendor says tickets from NYPD are unfair; ‘I was treated better when I sold drugs’

One of the street vendors I work with got an op-ed placed in the Daily News today. The headline is wow but it’s an important read! Check it out here.

They can always find some reason to give me tickets. It seems to me that I am seen as little more than a nuisance to those who patrol our streets …

And it’s not only me they harass. Last year, the city gave more than 26,000 tickets to the hardworking vendors of New York City. Most are for minor infractions, like placing your table too far from the curb. The price of these tickets can reach as high as $1,000.

Many vendors, who may rely on purchases of less than $5, can’t pay such a penalty, so they lose their licenses.

February 15th
2:44 PM EST

5 notes

Minorities Are More Generous Than Whites, Study Finds

This isn’t news, and especially not to those from communities of color, but it’s good to share:

W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) released a new report, “Cultures of Giving: Energizing and Expanding Philanthropy by and for Communities of Color”.

… Recent trends show that communities of color are giving at increasing rates and levels. For instance, 63 percent of Latino households now make charitable donations, and blacks give away 25 percent more of their income per year than whites.

Say the word ‘philanthropist,’ and most people envision wealthy white do-gooders writing large checks in the millions. In recent years, the definition of philanthropy has begun to broaden to include a larger swath of human generosity, with any-size contributions not just from the wealthy but from people of every income bracket, including nurses, plumbers, hairdressers and civil servants, and growing giving among the black, Latino, American Indian, Arab American and Asian American communities.

January 12th
12:11 PM EST

8 notes

Join us on Feb 16: 1,000 Vendors Against $1,000 Fines!

12PM, CITY HALL

Street Vendor Project, ¡Vamos Unidos! and the 125^th Street Merchants’ Association

Join us for a historic demonstration of #VendorPower in New York City!

NYC street vendors receive exorbitant fines for minor violations that have nothing to do with health or safety. Violations such as having a license in your pocket, having boxes beside your table as you are setting up, being one foot too close to the crosswalk and so on, accumulate to become $1,000 each.

The vending fine structure is an economic injustice which punishes our smallest of small businesses – the very immigrants, veterans and entrepreneurs our city should be helping – more harshly than large, multinational corporations. Enough is enough!

December 6th
8:15 AM EST

17 notes

My parents don’t think I have a real job because I can go to work in the sweatpants I slept in.

December 1st
4:08 PM EST

2 notes

City Cracking Down on Performers in Washington Sq Park

Now people who perform and ask for donations are being characterized as vendors and getting the vendor’s $1,000.00 fine. I wonder if these means the campaign will now get taken more seriously - at the very least now there’s more people who can complain about the unfairness of the steep fine.

To learn more about the ridiculous fines street vendors get for violations that have nothing to do with safety or health, check out the Street Vendor Project.

November 28th
9:41 PM EST

1 note

Getting home from work @ 9:40pm - one of the signs that I have no time management skills.

November 21st
12:39 PM EST

0 notes

ahhhh health care negotiations….

I recently volunteered to be on the barganing committee for our union, which is beginning its first contract negotiations (we overwhelmingly won last month with 100% turnout). and i’m already terrified.

November 10th
3:28 PM EST

14 notes

All i fucking want right now is a snickers almond bar.

3pm is the worst time of the work day for me, besides the first second I sit down.