“Sad, very sad, powerless because we can’t do anything.”
Mercedes Vivar, mother of two daughters, is one of the more than 80 street vendors who were evicted from Plaza Corona by the city’s Cleaning Department almost three weeks ago for operating without a permit.
“Well, I’m at nothing, because I already have to pay the rent and I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” Vivar said.
live.
Just like Vivar, other compañeros who had stalls in the plaza have tried to sell in other places, but have not been successful.
“We have tried, but wherever this healthcare is, the police are always throwing us out. There is no way to put yourself,” added Vivar.
The vendors who were evicted on July 27 have Tax IDs and a license to sell food, but do not have a hawker permit.
The city has issued permits to more than 800 vendors to sell merchandise and more than 5,000 permits for food.
In response to this crisis, a group of vendors has been at the site day and night asking for signatures from residents on their behalf.
“They have collected more than 10,500 signatures from people here in the Corona neighborhood who support street vendors,” said Eric Nava-Pérez, community organizer, Proyecto de Vendedores Ambulantes.
He added that they are waiting to reach an agreement with the city’s Department of Transportation for Corona Plaza to function as a market where vendors can operate.
“We know this process takes time, but we need to speed it up, we need to get people back to work,” Nava-Pérez added.
For his part, a DOT spokesman told us in a statement:
“NYC DOT is currently in the process of writing a request for proposal for a concession agreement for Corona Plaza similar to the one in operation at the Bronx Night Market at Fordham Plaza. We hope to publish this proposal in the coming months.”
As the city disputes the future of these vendors, area residents say they are now enjoying the plaza in a way they haven’t in a long time.
Fernandez, left
“This here now is wonderful because before here there was no space to sit at any time,” said Teodoro Fernández.
And some workers and businessmen say that now the plaza is cleaner and more organized.
“Every time they fight there, things you see because it hurts us, it hurts us, yes, there are people who supported their family there but also did not have the origin that the city needed,” said Rafael Abreú.
2023-08-15 21:35:00
#Anguish #uncertainty #vendors #evicted #Plaza #Corona
