The Observers

“‘Imagine having two city agents and police officers coming to check on you,’ said Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director at the Street Vendor Project. ‘The city is pouring all these resources into criminalizing and shutting down these small businesses instead of creating a licensing program and regulating them.’”

WNYC The Takeaway

"Since pandemic eviction moratoriums and other tenant predictions have lapsed, eviction rates have risen to nearly pre-pandemic levels...we speak with Marika Dias, Managing Director at the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center in New York City...about the importance of Right to Counsel rights for tenants who are facing eviction."

National Geographic

“Vending has always been big along Roosevelt, especially in Jackson Heights and Corona, but even more so now, because so many people have lost their income, are facing eviction, and have no safety net,” says Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director of The Street Vendor Project."

New York Times

The show “Nuevayorkinos: Essential and Excluded,” which opened in October 2021, paid tribute to ​​immigrant cultures and labor in New York. “We got a lot of exposure thanks to the exhibit,” said Mohamed Attia, the director of the Street Vendor Project, which worked on the show and is part of the Urban Justice Center.

Axios

"Advocates, including Street Vendor Project deputy director Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, say street vending creates a path toward entrepreneurship, especially for immigrants and people who can’t access capital to start their own businesses.”

Queens Daily Eagle

“There is a great need for investment to make the plaza as best as it can be - but with vendors who both live and work in the former epicenter working together, the possibilities are endless,” the Street Vendor Project said on social media. “City planning is at its best when communities are leading the way!”

https://citylimits.org/2022/03/31/some-nyc-vendors-are-using-excluded-workers-fund-aid-to-cover-city-fines/

“'Vendors have been left doubly excluded, at precisely the moment when New York’s smallest businesses could either stabilize from the pandemic with support to formalize their businesses and relief for excluded workers—or sink further into debt, criminalized and fined for selling food and merchandise,' said Street Vendor Project’s Deputy Director, Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez.”

Documented

“According to a report from the Street Vendor Project...there are around 20,000 people regularly selling merchandise, food, and art on city streets. The overwhelming majority are immigrants and people of color. Out of the survey group, 71% do not have permits and are at risk of getting fines, arrests and confiscation of their goods.”

The Ticker

“Currently, vending without a permit results in a $1,000 fine, a punishment that Street Vendor Project Advocacy Director Mohamed Attia has said 90% of underground market operators have gone through.”

Univision

“Según el defensor de los vendedores ambulantes Mohamed Attia, director ejecutivo del Proyecto de Vendedores Ambulantes, el sistema de multas ha perdido el control y ha habido casos de multas excesivas.”