The Bronx has welcomed tens of thousands of people who came here in search of a better life. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the system’s capacity and political will to support them.

Over the past two years, thousands of asylum seekers and immigrant families have come to our borough. Without access to work permits, many turned to selling food, clothes, and essential goods on the streets to survive. Street vending has always been a first step into the local economy for immigrants.

Street vendors are small business owners. They invest in supplies, work long hours, and serve neighborhoods with limited access to affordable goods. They are part of the economy, and they deserve to be treated with the same respect and protection as any other entrepreneur.

But current enforcement laws treat them like criminals. The NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and at times New York Police Department (NYPD) is still tasked with regulating street vendors—leading to fines, arrests, and in some cases, jail time. For undocumented vendors, that arrest record can trigger deportation proceedings. 

Earlier this year, the City Council passed legislation to change this, Intro 47. The bill would have decriminalized street vending by transferring enforcement from the NYPD to a civilian agency and reducing the penalties that ruin lives over minor infractions. It was a smart, fair update to a system that clearly isn’t working.

When Mayor Adams vetoed that bill, he put thousands of immigrant workers and families back at risk.

I voted to pass this legislation, and I will vote to overturn the Mayor’s veto. Because here in the Bronx, we don’t punish people for trying to work—we fight to protect them.

We know that safety and dignity are not mutually exclusive. The City Council has 30 days to act, ands your Council Member and Majority Leader I will be standing on the side of immigrant families, small business owners, and the Bronx.