“Those are just like the ones they use at Whole Foods”, said Palma, pointing proudly to a pint-sized blackboard advertising two speckled nectarines for $1. Palma, herself a former employee of Whole Foods, saved up $2,500 over the past year in order to purchase the license and pushcart that would allow her to vend fresh fruit and vegetables from what New York City refers to as a "Green Cart."
And on a bright September morning, with kids and parents stopping by to select from her carefully curated selection of fruit and vegetables, Palma’s enterprise seemed to emblemize the American ideal of the self-sufficient bootstrapper.
Palma takes great pride in the produce she brings to the area. So do the other 10 vendors working in the same two-block radius. But by November, the onset of winter meant a decrease in foot traffic and loss in revenue. While she loves being a Green Cart vendor, Palma has a family to support. So to make ends meet, she is now working a part-time job at a bakery to supplement the income she earns as a Green Cart vendor.
A history of misgivings
Palma and others vendors like her have existed since the founding of the United States and their contribution to the overall economy has not been insignificant. In 1906, a Push Cart Commission recorded over 25,000 street vendors selling produce and dry goods. In 1918 there were 237 municipal markets in cities with populations above 30,000 and street vendors were so numerous that the census had its own category for them until 1940.
The tradition and pride in vending, however, took a turn under the Mayor Fiorella La Guardia’s administration. Despite his own origins from a poor immigrant Italian background, in a reversal of sympathies, La Guardia sought to criminalize street vending by reducing the number of permits from 15,000 in 1934 to 1,000 in 1945. Peddling was almost completely abolished in the 1930’s when enclosed markets buildings were established to “tidy up the streets” in preparation for the World's Fair. Street vending faced another major setback in 1979 when Mayor Koch capped the number of permits at 3,000 for food vendors and 853 for general merchandise vendors.
Street vendors were among the many groups targeted during the Giuliani administration when he implemented his vision for a cleaner New York. In 1998 Giuliani attempted to ban food vendors from 144 blocks in Midtown and lower Manhattan; his plan, however, was largely thwarted as a result of protests and threats of lawsuits. Recently under the Bloomberg administration, fines for all vendors have drastically increased, with some penalties as much as $1,000.
Because of the cap on the number of permits for street vendors enacted by Koch over 30 years ago, the difficulty in procuring a permit is still apparent today. For most vendors, those aspiring to operate their own vendor cart can either sign up for the waiting list and wait decades for a vending permit or purchase one on the black market for up to $10,000 a piece.
