“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 said in a statement.

A street vendor getting a ticket from the NYPD in 2024 in Queens. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

On Wednesday night, in a last-minute move, Mayor Eric Adams vetoed Intro. 47-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 20 with 40 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 most egregious cases, is unfair to law-abiding business owners and poses real public health and safety risks,” Adams said.

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 legislation that protects our immigrant small business owners, who are simply trying to provide for their families, from jail time and immigration consequences,” said Krishnan in a statement. 

He accused the mayor of trying to “curry favor” with President Trump and his immigration agenda, as the federal government seeks to ramp up arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants. Criminal charges put vendors at risk of being targeted, advocates say.

As City Limits has reported, criminal and civil tickets related to street vending skyrocketed in 2024. The NYPD alone issued more than 9,000 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 most vending violations to civil penalties only. However, unlicensed or unpermitted vending offenses could still result in either a criminal summons and fine or civil penalty, Street Vendor Project’s Deputy Director Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez explained.

While most of the violations issued to street vendors in 2024 were civil, 15 percent were criminal summonses. This year, the trend continues: the NYPD has issued just over 2,500 tickets to street vendors; 15 percent, or 393 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 2024 survey, 27 percent of the city’s mobile food vendors reported being undocumented, while 96 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. 47,” NYC Street Vendor Justice Coalition, which backs the Street Vendor Project that advocates for the rights of street vendors, said in a statement. 

“Choosing to veto a bill that simply 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 vulnerable, hardworking families and entrepreneurs.”

The City Council says it is considering next steps.

“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 said in a statement.

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

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