Affected by unemployment, street vendors are stacked along the St. Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan. (Photo: Zaira Cortés/EDLP)

Community leaders and elected officials expressed their concern over the noticeable rise in the number of street vendors along the streets that intersect with St. Nicholas Avenue in upper Manhattan.

Problems of public health and pedestrian safety have become more acute in the area, according to small business owners that consider the street vendors to be "unfair competition."

Recently, community leaders and elected officials formed a coalition to examine the phenomenon of informal commerce in northern Manhattan. The goal is to find solutions that don't involve police or excessive fines.

City Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez, a member of the coalition, said that the increase in street vendors is linked to unemployment in the city.

"There isn't an exact number, but there are thousands of street vendors in this neighborhood, both legal and undocumented. We think that 95 percent are Latino."

Rodríguez said that the main problems in the area are streets made unsanitary by the excess of garbage, a risk to pedestrian safety due to blocked sidewalks, and the "internal migration" of merchants.

"We've found vendors who come from other boroughs, even Connecticut. The situation gets worse on the weekend, especially on 207th street."

The city council member confirmed that she is looking into the possibility of creating a plaza similar to "The Americas" located at 175th Street and Broadway, in order to have an organized space for the vendors.

Juan Rosa, who works in the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs in Manhattan, said that despite the insistence of some established business owners, they will avoid involving the police at whatever costs necessary to control the overpopulation of street vendors.

"They are workers that support thousands of families. We need human solutions, not arbitrary ones," said Rosa.

Other members of the recently formed coalition include Community Board 12, the Washington Heights Business Improvement District, and Senator Adriano Espaillat, among other elected officials.

The leaders agree that the street vendors should cooperate and respect regulations, such as the use of three-legged tables and cleaning up the sidewalk at the end of the workday. However, "the problem won't be resolved immediately or easily."

Business owners in the neighborhood asserted that street vendors severely reduce their sales, given that some sell merchandise at lower prices. For that reason, business owners have demanded zero tolerance when dealing with street vendors.

Eduardo Palma, who sells sunglasses on 181st Street, said, "I lost my job as a cook five months ago. I had to create a job for myself in order to put food on the table. I didn't have any other option."

Officially, an estimated 6,000 street vendors have a city-issued license, including 853 general permits, 3,000 for food vendors, and about 2,000 for veterans.