As a third-generation property owner proud to call Fordham Road home, the quality of life in the neighborhood has deteriorated to its lowest point in my family’s 70+ years here. The main culprit is unregulated food and street vending that takes up precious real estate in our incredibly limited public realm.
Our sidewalks are dirty and impassable, vendors leave garbage behind, use stores’ bathrooms where they also steal goods, illegally use water and electricity, vendor vehicles clog our bus lane and hamper efforts by local businesses to take in deliveries.
Recent legislation (431B) to expand the number of food and street vendor licenses, which we have serious concerns about, also created a new Director of Street Vendor Assistance within the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), a position that we learned will be filled by Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, who served for years as the Deputy Director of the Street Vendor Project.
As she transitions from advocate to bureaucrat, we hope she will be in a unique position to support our mom and pops by ensuring existing rules and regulations are equitably enforced.
In talking to other business leaders and our members, there is a perceived lack of trust for this newly created position and how it will work. Here are some ideas on how Kaufman-Gutierrez can bridge that divide and earn the trust of our small businesses:
- First: One of the main arguments that was made in the push for more licenses was that if a vendor can get a license, it will ensure compliance. Since the passage of Int 1116 five years ago and Int 431B, we have actually seen the opposite. I’ve lost tenants because of legal food vendors not in compliance and we may lose a supermarket in the far west end of our district because of a licensed vendor in front of the store clearly breaking the law. This is just one example of where this new role could be helpful in ensuring all licensed food vendors follow all rules and regulations.
- Second: I want to remind the City that Fordham Road is a restrictive street, which prohibits street vending Monday through Saturday. The new legislation 431B mandates enforcement be prioritized on restrictive streets. The BID welcomes the opportunity to work with Kaufman-Gutierrez to find street vending locations just off of Fordham Road but not on Fordham Road and not in direct competition with adjacent businesses.
- Third: The BID is experienced at creating pathways to local jobs, including through our Patrol Ambassador Program. I could see a scenario where we can integrate some sort of local incubator where vendors could potentially also end up working in one of our 300 stores or creating and owning their own stores.
- Fourth: Mayor Mamdani announced his plans to resurrect the Fordham Road Bus Lane project, which would create an offset bus lane and create more curb space for loading and unloading, parking, DSNY containers, public art, and other uses to beautify the district.
- Fifth: BIDs were created more than 40 years ago to supplement city services through beautification, sanitation, and public programming. Let’s find a way to bring the vending community together that aligns with the BID’s mission, including keeping the neighborhood clean, e.g., no illegal dumping, no tapping into illegal sources of water and electricity. Our businesses still get fined for trash on the sidewalk left by unauthorized street vendors and licensed food vendors.
Fordham Road is not anti-vendor. We are simply pro-playing by the rules. Kaufman-Gutierrez has a unique opportunity to use her experience to connect with small businesses through a different light. And I am hopeful she can see beyond the cart and see the commercial corridor as a whole.
David Rose is Chairman of the Fordham Road BID and a third-generation property owner.
