Bill to create street-vendor division at SBS draws mixed reaction

Council members and vendor advocates urged creation of a dedicated street-vendor assistance unit inside the Department of Small Business Services to provide outreach, training and help vendors navigate licensing and city services.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and vendor organizers said education and a navigable path to compliance will reduce enforcement interactions and help vendors grow legal businesses. "This division would provide much needed services and resources for street vendors alongside important educational and training programs on safe vending," Williams said while supporting the package of bills.

Haris Khan, chief of staff at SBS, told the committee that SBS already provides no-cost business courses, legal consultations and multilingual outreach and urged caution about creating a separate division because additional reporting requirements could intimidate immigrant participants. "Creating a separate division could divert limited time and resources away from service delivery and into new layers of reporting and program design," Khan said, while offering to work with bill sponsors on program details.

Vendor advocates said competition over limited permits and inconsistent enforcement make outreach alone insufficient. They asked the council to pair outreach with increased license availability and clearer enforcement rules. "When we can equip vendors with information, tools, and a clear path to follow, they know how to operate and can focus on what they love to do," said a Street Vendor Project representative.

SBS told the committee it mailed more than 22,000 pamphlets and partnered with DOHMH on 15,000 additional mailings to make vendors aware of opportunities; it also translated materials into Spanish, Haitian Creole and Wolof and co-hosted trainings. SBS officials said they do not disaggregate all service data by vendor status because asking participants directly whether they are vendors can deter engagement from immigrant entrepreneurs. Council members pressed SBS for more on-the-ground outreach and more precise tracking of vendor-focused assistance.

Ending: Sponsors said Intro 4-08 would institutionalize targeted vendor support; SBS recommended continued collaboration on design and data collection to avoid discouraging participation.