Credit: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr
The City Council on Wednesday voted to override Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of a bill that decriminalizes most street vending violations in New York City. The measure, Intro. 47, removes misdemeanor penalties for general and food vendors, making them civil offenses instead. The Council first passed the bill with a veto-proof majority in July, but Adams vetoed it in August, saying it “sends the wrong message” as the city ramps up enforcement against illegal vending.
However, the override passed with 35 votes—fewer than the 40 it received on June 30—as some members who initially backed the bill switched to opposing or abstaining in the veto override, according to The City.
Two Council members, Joann Ariola of Queens and Susan Zhuang of Brooklyn, flipped to support the override. Council Member Shekar Krishnan of Queens, who sponsored the bill, told The City that some colleagues chose to support the bill to reject Adams’ “continued destruction of the laws that we pass.”
Intro. 47 was based on recommendations from the Street Vendor Advisory Board, a panel that includes representatives from real estate, business groups, and the NYPD. In 2022, Adams said he would “begin to implement” those recommendations.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams criticized the mayor’s veto as a continuation of what she described as his prioritization of Trump’s interests over those of New Yorkers.
“Mayor Adams’ vetoes were another example of him prioritizing Trump’s agenda above our city by disregarding the work of his own administration on these bills and harming working-class New Yorkers,” the speaker said.
She continued: “Working alongside our city’s workers and small business owners, the Council is again acting as the reliable leaders in our city to advance pay equity and a sustainable delivery industry, while protecting our residents from Trump administration abuses. The Council’s override of the Mayor’s senseless vetoes enact these laws that advance and protect the working people of our city.”
The legislation comes during a sharp rise in NYPD enforcement, with officers issuing over 9,300 tickets to vendors in 2024, more than double the total in 2023, according to City Limits. Nearly 96 percent of the city’s street vendors are immigrants, according to the Immigration Research Initiative, and criminal penalties increase the risk of deportation under the Trump administration’s intensifying immigration crackdowns.
Currently, street vendors in NYC can face misdemeanor charges, fines of up to $500, and up to 30 days in jail for violating vending laws. Offenses include operating too far from the curb or using cardboard boxes to display merchandise. Under the bill, these time, place, and manner violations would instead carry civil penalties of up to $250.
Vendors operating without a license or permit currently face misdemeanor charges, criminal fines ranging from $150 to $1,000, and up to three months in jail. Under the new bill, the city would downgrade these offenses to violations—non-criminal offenses—with fines of up to $1,000, as 6sqft previously reported.
Under the law, officers can continue to issue criminal tickets for unlicensed vending, as well as civil tickets, which carry a cost of up to $1,000.
The Adams administration has taken a tougher stance on illegal vending. In November 2023, the city reopened a scaled-down version of the Corona Plaza market in Queens after shuttering it down the previous summer, and in January 2024, officials banned vendors from all 789 city bridges.
Following his veto, Adams told the New York Post that his action aimed to address “quality-of-life” concerns and protect small business owners from unlicensed vendors. A week after his veto, the Council announced it intended to override Adams.
On Wednesday, the Council also voted to override Adams’ vetoes of two other bills, Intros. 1133 and 1135, which require app-based grocery delivery companies like Instacart to meet the same minimum wage standards as restaurant delivery platforms. They also passed a new law, Intro. 20, which mandates that food delivery apps provide workers with safety equipment and ensure they complete street safety training.
“Today was a decisive victory for immigrants in NYC,” Krishnan said. “As a Council, we voted to override the Mayor’s veto of my bill, Intro 47-B, which protects vendors from jail time and possible immigration consequences. The City Council will protect immigrants from intimidation and fear, from the horrifying conditions of 26 Federal Plaza, and from Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.”
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