Street vendors flee Fordham road after Canal street ICE raid
The agency says they arrested nine illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds and four rioters who were arrested for assaulting law enforcement, and another was arrested for obstruction.
Fordham Road is known to be a hub for street vending, from coffee carts to halal trucks, fruit stands, clothing and tables of electronics — there is nothing you can't find in what some call the heartbeat of the Bronx.
On Tuesday, the number of vendors and push carts that typically operate on the commercial strip significantly diminished.
The Department of Homeland Security carried out a significant raid in Chinatown on Oct. 21. The agency described it as a "targeted intelligence driven enforcement operation" that focused on "criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods."
The agency says they arrested nine illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds and four rioters who were arrested for assaulting law enforcement, and another was arrested for obstruction.
A Venezuelan vendor in the Bronx got word of the chaos that unfolded downtown, he says everybody is afraid.
"We work because we look for daily bread, because we have family, because we have rent, we have to pay, we have to pay for all the necessary expenses, that is why we have to work," said Rafael Garcia, a Fordham Road vendor.
The Street Vendor Project, an organization comprised of nearly 3,000 members, is working to make a positive change for vendors. Mohamed Attia, the managing director, says a package of bills that have been sitting idle in City Hall could make serious reforms to the system, and provide protections for vendors to operate legally and prevent deportation.
"We are seeing the city government not stepping up to meet the moment, not moving this legislation forward and it's something that could put a lot of people at risk in getting in touch with the local enforcement, but also the federal enforcement and being at risk for deportation," said Mohamed Attia, managing director of the Street Vendor Project.
The Street Vendor Reform package includes a series of bills sponsored by City Council Members Pierina Sanchez and Amanda Farías. The bills would increase access to vendor permits and create a division within the department of small business services to assist street vendors.
"The main one we overturned to decriminalize vending, it's still a civil offense, still has it's violation, still gives us the ability to enforce non- compliance from street vending, but really making sure we are not targeting people with criminal offenses unnecessarily." said Amanda Farías.
Farías said she believes the additional bills could pass.
"We want to create a system that works and functions with everyone, I believe the system we have needs some reimagining and that is going to require us to pass these bills and ensure that we are not only doing the outreach and education on the rules, but also the expansive enforcement including coupled with budget and headcount on the administration side, but making sure we have a phased out process that people who are not vending in compliance can receive a license to actually do that properly," Farías.
