Street Vendor Project (SVP) is a labor campaign that aims to organize food and merchandise street vendors in New York City.

It is a fiscally sponsored project of the Urban Justice Center, a left-leaning legal foundation and advocacy organization located in New York City.

Background

Street Vendor Project aims to organize the more-than 10,000 street vendors operating in New York City, including hot dog and other food vendors, flower vendors, book vendors, street artists, and others. Street Vendor Project was created in response to regulations passed by New York City that, among other things, aimed to limit the number of vending licenses available and to restrict vendors from operating in certain areas in the city. ^{1 2}

SVP defends the vendors by describing them sympathetically as “small businesspeople struggling to make ends meet” and claims that “most are immigrants and people of color.”  ³

Activities

Street Vendor Project operates as a membership organization with more than 1,800 active vendors as members. SVP approaches vendors on the street and in parking garages to tell them about the movement and to inform them about their legal rights. The group also holds meetings at which it plans collective actions and gives vendors a meeting place where they can trade information and connect with small business training programs and loans. ⁴

SVP additionally releases reports and files lawsuits in defense of street vendors. ⁵ In 2023, its ongoing campaigns included anti-permit initiative Lift the Caps, a small business loan and training program called the Pushcart Fund created with the Business Center for New Americans, and litigation efforts on behalf of street vendors. ^{6 7 8 9}

Funding

Street Vendor Project has received funding from the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, Brooklyn Community, Charles H. Revson Foundation, Foundation to Promote Open Society, Immigrant Justice Corps, Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, New York Bar Foundation, New York Foundation, New York Women’s Foundation, and SVP’s parent group Urban Justice Center. ¹⁰

Activist group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice participated in a “solidarity” fundraising effort on behalf of Street Vendor Project in 2021. ¹¹

Street Vendor Project claims to be funded by member dues, “a few private foundations,” and individuals’ donations. ¹² It tells supporters looking to donate to direct their checks to the Urban Justice Center. ¹³

Leadership

As of 2023, Street Vendor Project leadership included Matthew Shapiro, legal director; Jennifer Salgado, lead organizer; Mohammed Attia, managing director; and Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director. Rachel Aimee, the group’s development director, is the co-founder and former executive director of Drag Story Hour NYC, which is described as “a nonprofit that produces fun and fabulous, queer-affirming storytelling programs for children.” ¹⁴

As of 2023, SVP had both an advisory board and a leadership board of directors. ^{15 16}

1. “About SVP.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 16, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about/.
2. “NYPD Announces Citywide Crime and Quality-of-Life Enforcement Initiative.” NYC.gov, March 23, 2022. Accessed August 17, 2023. https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/p00040/nypd-citywide-crime-quality-of-life-enforcement-initiative.
3. “About SVP.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 16, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about/.
4. “About SVP.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 16, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about/.
5. “About SVP.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 16, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about/.
6. “Current Campaigns.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/campaigns/current-campaigns/.
7. “Lift the Caps.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/campaigns/lift-the-caps/.
8. “The Pushcart Fund.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/campaigns/pushcart/.
9. “Legal Actions.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/legal-actions/
10. “Full-Text Search – Street Vendor Project.” ProPublica. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=street+vendor+project
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. 2021. Part III – Statement of Program Service Accomplishments.
12. “About SVP.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 16, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about/.
13. “Donate.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 16, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/get-involved/donate/.
14. “Staff.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about/staff-and-board/.
15. “Advisory Board.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about-us-2/advisory-board/.
16. “Leadership Board.” Street Vendor Project. Accessed August 17, 2023. http://streetvendor.org/about-us-2/leadership-board/.