Council Members Call for Crackdown of Illegal Street Vending
Monday, August 24, 2009
New York, NY –
Some Council members say the city needs to crack down on illegal street vending, especially at high-tourism sites like the Met Museum, where carts have proliferated recently. But some of the vendors say the effort is misguided.
Howard Dalton operates outside the Met and is one of several military veterans there who are granted special vending privileges. He says the city often tries to squelch street life and free enterprise when it should be encouraging it.
DALTON: They took away midtown from us. If they take this one, what's next? You got guys coming back from Iraq, Iran - ten years from now when they become disabled, what are they going to have?
REPORTER: Council member Dan Garodnick says the city needs to set up a centralized bureau to prevent vendors from crowding certain locations. And he wants an escalating series of fines that would ensure vendors don't blow off the tickets they receive.
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