Mayor Vetoes Council Bill to Eliminate Misdemeanors for Street Vending Offenses

As the Trump administration continues to attack working families and immigrant communities Mayor Adams veto is yet another example of him supporting Trump s agenda over New Yorkers Council Spokeswoman Julia Agos mentioned in a report A street vendor getting a ticket from the NYPD in in Queens Adi Talwar City Limits On Wednesday night in a last-minute move Mayor Eric Adams vetoed Intro -B a bill that would eliminate misdemeanors for street vending violations and decriminalize certain vending-related offenses The City Council passed the bill on June with votes in favor which is enough to potentially override a veto Politicians advocates and street vendors celebrated the change which would reduce criminal liability for certain violations though not eliminate all penalties in an industry that relies heavily on immigrants Adams argued that the bill wasn t realistic and the NYPD s enforcement powers should not be curtailed We can t be so idealistic that we re not realistic preventing the brave men and women of the NYPD from intervening even in the the greater part egregious cases is unfair to law-abiding business owners and poses real population strength and safety risks Adams explained function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' Councilmember Shekar Krishnan the bill s prime sponsor slammed the mayor s move In the dead of the night Mayor Adams did Donald Trump s bidding by vetoing my law that protects our immigrant small business owners who are only trying to provide for their families from jail time and immigration consequences reported Krishnan in a comment He accused the mayor of trying to curry favor with President Trump and his immigration agenda as the federal governing body seeks to ramp up arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants Criminal charges put vendors at threat of being targeted advocates say As City Limits has communicated criminal and civil tickets related to street vending skyrocketed in The NYPD alone issued more than tickets to vendors and the Department of Sanitation the main civil enforcement agency confiscated tons of food while also ticketing sellers The bill would have reduced majority vending violations to civil penalties only However unlicensed or unpermitted vending offenses could still effect in either a criminal summons and fine or civil penalty Street Vendor Project s Deputy Director Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez explained While majority of the violations issued to street vendors in were civil percent were criminal summonses This year the trend continues the NYPD has issued just over tickets to street vendors percent or of them were criminal summonses according to City Limits analysis of the police department s quarterly reports Misdemeanor charges can negatively affect a person s immigration proceedings as being charged with a crime could lead to deportation According to a survey percent of the city s mobile food vendors informed being undocumented while percent were born outside of the U S At a time when the Trump administration has increased fear for immigrants within our communities it is unconscionable that Mayor Adams has chosen to veto Intro NYC Street Vendor Justice Coalition which backs the Street Vendor Project that advocates for the rights of street vendors declared in a message Choosing to veto a bill that exclusively removes the excessive criminal misdemeanor penalties that can block New Yorkers access to educational housing and immigration opportunities is nothing less than an attack on our City s most of vulnerable hardworking families and entrepreneurs The City Council says it is considering next approaches As the Trump administration continues to attack working families and immigrant communities Mayor Adams veto is yet another example of him supporting Trump s agenda over New Yorkers Council Spokeswoman Julia Agos announced in a comment The Council has until the end of August to hold a vote to override Adams s veto To reach the reporter behind this story contact Daniel citylimits org and victoriam citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint protocol here The post Mayor Vetoes Council Bill to Eliminate Misdemeanors for Street Vending Offenses appeared first on City Limits